Eyewitness accounts from neighbors report that the cop, on his second visit to Santiago's apartment that Saturday evening and early Sunday morning, shouted something in English and then opened fire. Neither Santiago nor his friend Aurelio Hernandez, who was with him on the porch, spoke English.

The cop's assault was reportedly in response to music Santiago was playing. Following the killing the cops issued a story that Santiago picked up a toy gun. Hernandez denies this, saying that the toy remained on the window sill several feet away from where his friend was shot.

Luce Aguilar, a sewing machine operator who lives nearby, explained why she came to the protest. "I think it is very important to protest against the police and to make them stop these killings," she said, rejecting police claims of being fearful of a toy gun. "If he saw a gun he could have shot him in the hand or arm. But no, they shoot to kill."

David Ferguson, also a sewing machine operator who works with Aguilar at a nearby garment factory, attended the rally. He is the Socialist Workers Party candidate for Congress in Houston. Ferguson urged workers and unionists in the city to "speak out against these killings by the cops and demand: Jail the cop who killed Jaime Santiago!"

Representatives of the Mexican consulate also participated in the event.

Jacquie Henderson is a garment worker in Houston  
 
 
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