King of the Hill and Parks and Recreation actor shot dead outside Texas home

Houston: Jonathan Joss, a voice actor best known for his work on the animated television series King of the Hill, was fatally shot near his Texas home, authorities said on Monday.

Police were dispatched to a home in south San Antonio about 7pm on Sunday for a shooting in progress call. When officers arrived at the scene, they found the wounded 59-year-old near the street.

Jonathan Joss (right) with Amy Poehler in a scene from Parks and Recreation.Credit: NBCUniversal via Getty Images

“The officers attempted life-saving measures until EMS [emergency medical services] arrived. EMS pronounced the victim deceased,” San Antonio police said in a statement.

Joss’ death was confirmed by his husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales.

“He was murdered,” de Gonzales told The Associated Press in a text. The two were married earlier this year on Valentine’s Day.

In a statement, de Gonzales said that before the shooting, he and Joss were checking mail at Joss’ home, which had been heavily damaged during a January fire that claimed the lives of their three dogs. A man approached the two and threatened them with a gun, de Gonzales said.

Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez is charged with murdering Joss.Credit: Bexar County Sheriff’s Office

“Jonathan and I had no weapons. We were not threatening anyone. We were grieving. We were standing side by side. When the man fired, Jonathan pushed me out of the way. He saved my life,” de Gonzales said in a statement.

After the shooting, authorities arrested 56-year-old Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez and charged him with murder in Joss’ death.

Police said their investigation was ongoing and did not immediately provide any information on what prompted the shooting.

Court records did not list an attorney who could speak on behalf of Alvarez, who was being held in the Bexar County Adult Detention Centre.

Joss, who grew up in San Antonio, was best known as the voice of John Redcorn, a Native American character on the popular King of the Hill animated series that ran for 13 seasons from 1997 to 2008. A reboot of the show is set to start in August.

Joss also had a recurring role on the television show Parks and Recreation, playing Chief Ken Hotate. He appeared in two episodes of the series Tulsa King in 2022.

A GoFundMe page had been set up in January for Joss after the house fire. According to the page, Joss had lost all of his belongings in the fire, including his vehicle.

Before he was fatally shot, Joss had been in Austin, about 130 kilometres north-east of San Antonio, for events related to a sneak peak of the King of the Hill revival.

On Saturday, Joss had posted a video on Instagram in which he said he was signing autographs at a comic book store in Austin.

“The fans get to revisit King of the Hill again, which I think is an amazing thing because it’s a great show,” Joss said in the video, adding he had already done voice work on four episodes of the revival.

Joss’s husband said the actor was grateful for his fans.

“To everyone who supported him, his fans, his friends, know that he valued you deeply. He saw you as family,” de Gonzales said.

AP

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