Justice for José: Get Him Home and Laid to Rest

On June 15th, 2024 a little after 6:30pm, a life was stolen from family and friends. John Torres made it his decision to end José Hernández life with no mercy. Torres cold heartily gunned down a son, brother, uncle and a friend to many. José wasn’t murdered in private, he was murdered in a public area with 30+ people around who are all now living with trauma and or fear. José was enjoying himself down at the pool with friends and family at an apartment complex located in Huntsville, Al. José then started to receive several racial comments towards him due to him being Mexican. Who were making these racial slurs? These two individuals ladies that are related to Torres. One is thought to be the sister to Torres, along with Torres’s girlfriend. Torres’s sister began to MOCK José over the fact he could not speak English. Torres’s sister began to yell at José telling him to “Speak English” (knowing he could not), she then proceeded to tell José “You better get out the pool before your back gets even more wetter (referring to José as a wetback)”. José didn’t take to kindly of what this young lady was saying to him and was obviously triggered to say something back to the young lady, he said something along the lines of “Forget (the other F word) You”. Torres’s sister then took it to heart for José even responding to her with such a thing, she then proceeded to call her brother (John Albert Torres) to quote on quote “handle José”. Torres then showed up , yelling “Where are those FREAKING (the other F word) MEXICANS?”. Torres then jumped the private 9ft fence since the entrance was locked off and he had no key to enter. Once Torres was able to make it inside the fenced pool area, he made his way to finding his sister and girlfriend, he swapped a few words with them. Then Torres located José and proceeded to run up on José to “handle business”. José held his ground and him and Torres began to fight. José had overpowered Torres and that made Torres very angry. When Torres realized he met his match and couldn’t hold his own two feet, he decided to pull his 9mm pistol and let out a couple of rounds (bullets). He first shot José in the leg, leaving him defenseless. When José fell to the ground from all the pain he was enduring due to the bullet launched in his leg, Torres then aimed towards José AGAIN, shooting him an additional THREE TIMES. José was shot FOUR times; one to the leg, one to the arm (breaking his arm bones due to close range), one in the stomach area and one last bullet to the face that entered under his left eye but above the left cheekbone and it exited out the back of his head. Torres then walked off with his arm wrapped around his girlfriend and they exited the pool area leaving José bleeding out with multiple gun shot wounds. When the shots started firing, everyone but a women left running. She tended to José’s care by taking her pool dress off and wrapping it around José’s head due to more blood coming out his head since the bullet did enter and exited itself there. She then flipped José on his side so he wouldn’t choke on his blood and drown because he started to spit up blood as well. Later arrived the women’s son and José’s younger brother. These two boys also helped aid José by applying pressure to the other gun shot wounds. José knew he was on his last breath and before the ambulance arrived and took him, he looked at his baby brother and told him “Te amo, te amo, te amo” translated to “I love you, I love you, I love you”. When the ambulance took José, he was STILL BREATHING. José’s older brother was informed of the shooting that was endeared on José and quickly made his way to the apartment complex this tragic event happened at. When José’s older brother arrived, the ambulance was leaving and José’s older brother followed behind and informed us that the ambulance did NOT turn their lights on and were driving roughly 15MPH-30MPH. The older brother did say the ambulance turned the lights on once they were about to reach the hospital but never did they rush him. Mind you say the hospital and the apartment complex are roughly 15 minutes apart, there is a video of proof of this. The family was later informed 2 hours later that they lost José. Now with all that being said, as of TODAY. The girls who called Torres, the family is told that they are Torres’s sister and girlfriend. The two girls are walking freely as of right now, they were taken to the police station for questioning but were let go the same night all this happened. Torres was arrested and booked for homicide but he was ORIGINALLY set for NO BOND but was later GRANTED BOND with a $60,000 fee and if bailed out, has to wear an ankle monitor. The family of José are MOURNING and GRIEVING over the lost of their beloved one. José was only 23 years old with a birthday coming in July, he would have been 24. He came to the U.S. 3 years ago looking for a better life and not to mention his mother and other siblings were living in the U.S. already, he came to be with them. José is remembered by many and many are hurting. José will not have a funeral here in the U.S. due to the fact he was MURDERED here in the U.S. José’s father, who lives in Mexico, had to fly here under short but unfortunate circumstances. José’s family wants to send his body back to Mexico to have a proper burial for him there, this is something José always told his family and friends he wanted if he was to ever pass away while living here in the U.S. With saying that, the family is in need of help to make that happen. This is not a cheap process but the life of a love one has no limit. This is something they will see through but the family would love to see if there’s people who are willing to help in these difficult times. The family had to lawyer up due to the fact they are nervous they might not receive much justice for José with the matter of HPD not holding the girls in contempt and granting a murder bond after originally not granting bond. ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING HELPS, from one raza to another this is something people who come together to help each other, especially with this being a hate crime, a racial profiling matter. The family of John Albert Torres and himself are Puerto Ricans, they are from Puerto Rico from what the family was informed.