Above shows the mother and sister of the 18-year-old graffiti artist who had his life abruptly taken away from him. Israel Hernandez died on Tuesday after being shocked by a stun gun by police. On Saturday, hundreds of supports gathered at the site where he was spray-painting.
Israel Hernandez was drawing graffiti on a shuttered McDonald’s wall when he was confronted by the cops. After being told to stop running, Hernandez was shot with a taser gun and later died. The father of Israel called his son’s death, “An act of barbarism. Assassination of a young artist and photographer.”
Jason W. Kreiss, an attorney representing the family, said, “Hernandez would likely not have been prosecuted over the spray-painting and would have probably faced a punishment of community service.”
The peaceful rally brought nearly 400 people together. Of the 400, Hernandez’s classmate was in the crowd and she had said this to say about him, “He was a genius. He showed me how powerful art can be, how you can use color and design to relay a powerful message.”
The wall where Hernandez was spray-painting was covered with his nickname and touching messages at the rally.
A formal cause of death has not been released yet, due to pending toxicology results.
