Details on the murder that occurred on Juneteenth were sketchy when we posted yesterday (as we mentioned). More details of the event have been culled since then, and here is what the police think happened at this point. Two men in a Ford Taurus were driving near the Booker T. Washington housing development Tuesday night and accidentally hit a 2-year-old boy. The driver of the car got out (to check on the boy, perhaps) and was surrounded by a group of men (the number of men is still not known - it could have been as many as 20). Some of the men started attacking the driver, and passenger David Rivas Morales got out of the car to try to stop the assault. Morales was then beaten to death by the men. No one in the immediate area came to the aid of Morales, but someone did call 911.

The very young boy who had been hit by the Taurus survived with no serious injuries.

As of now it is unknown if these attackers were residents of the housing development or if some were in the area for the Juneteenth celebrations at the nearby Rosewood Park. The exact number of attackers is also still up in the air. Mob-mentality is thought to have been a factor, but the number of people involved is not the huge amount originally announced by APD. Was this violent act racially-motivated? LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) and the Black Austin Democrats held a joint press conference yesterday afternoon to comment on the murder and racial tensions in the area. There are still a number of questions about the murder.

Police are in need of more information from any witnesses or bystanders. Please call 477-3588 if you know anything more about the incident. In this time of cell phone cameras, when a fight at Highland Mall shows up on Youtube . . . well, we hope that more is uncovered about the true events that night.

The Statesman article continues to be updated as more is learned.