TikToker, 22, allegedly shot and killed Marine veteran in front of his fiancee and 10-month-old infant: cops
A TikTokker allegedly shot and killed a Marine veteran in front of his infant son and fiancée in a Texas parking lot — and later posted about it on his popular account, according to reports..
Justin Guzman, 22, a wannabe influencer who posted cringey lip-sync videos on TikTok, surrendered to the Houston Police Department on Monday in connection to the senseless killing of Marine veteran Anthony Sanders, 30, earlier last month, according to KPRC.
to the killing of Marine veteran Anthony Sanders. guzmanhimself1/TikTok
In a hearing Monday, Sander’s parents, both of whom are Army veterans, submitted evidence that included a TikTok posted by Guzman in which he emotes and dances in front of a television news segment about the shooting, KHOU reported.
“We’re here for justice. Justice for Anthony and also to stand for what he stood for as a person,” father Frank Sanders told the outlet. “This was uncalled for.”
On June 3, Sanders confronted Guzman and his alleged accomplice Marko Cinan, 23, in the parking garage of the Galleria Mall after the pair had allegedly insulted the Marine vet’s fiancée in an elevator of the shopping complex where she worked, according to reports.
After the exchange of words, Sanders went to drive away from the dispute with his partner and their 10-month-old son in the car — but Guzman allegedly “brake-checked” the vet and blocked him in with his own vehicle.
When the Marine got out of his car to address the aggressive driving maneuver — he was shot a total of ten times as his infant and wife cowered in their car.
Royal Sanders was grateful that her son stepped out of the car before the bullets started flying, “because had he not stepped out, the baby was in the car, the fiancée was in the car,” she told KHOU at the courthouse Monday.
Houston police stopped and detained Guzman, Cinan, and a third male shortly after the shooting but they were then released.
Cinan turned himself into HPD on June 25 and was booked into Harris County Jail.
Lawyers for Guzman said the 22-year-old was acting in self defense, claiming that Sanders had presented a knife when he confronted Guzman and Cinan about insulting his fiancée, Financial Express reported.
Cops found no evidence at the scene that indicated Sanders was armed, according to reports.
Guzman is being held on $750,000 bond and Cinan, who has a criminal record, is being held on $1million bond, according to Law and Crime.
The pair are featured in several TikTok videos on Guzman’s well account which boasts over 50,000 followers.
In several tasteless videos, the pair hold their hands like guns and pretend to fire at the camera.