A neighbor of the property where food influencer Michael Duarte’s had been staying prior to his death is sharing more insight into what she claims were the final moments before he was shot by police.
“It was a drawn-out incident that happened over several hours,” the neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous, exclusively tells Us Weekly of the “unfortunate and shocking” event that led to Duarte’s death on November 8.
According to the neighbor, Duarte — known online as FoodWithBearHands — had received permission to stay on the property from a group of people renting a home in Castroville, Texas. He was not staying inside, but rather in a camping tent outside.
“So he wasn’t staying with the group and they didn’t know each other personally, although they were all apparently part of the business event,” the neighbor says.
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According to reports, Duarte was in town for the Texas Open Fire Meat Up, a barbecue festival scheduled for Nov. 8.
It is the woman’s understanding that Duarte had been traveling with another man, who was concerned about him. However, it’s unknown if the man got the police involved.
The neighbor also claims that a main camera on the property, which sits on three acres, showed people walking toward the home from the street. At one point during his stay, Duarte was seen on the camera looking “disheveled,” according to the woman.
The shooting incident happened on the street, the woman claims. It is her understanding that Duarte “informed or threatened that he had a weapon and planned to use it,” although she does not know what type of weapon.
Multiple reports indicated the food influencer allegedly threatened an officer with a knife.
And there were “signs of blood on property away from the shooting area,” the neighbor claims. Additionally, she claims that “there was blood found in the camping tent,” and inside were two sleeping bags.
Meanwhile, Bianca Haseloff, a local realtor, tells Us she was showing an empty lot to a client nearby when they heard a male scream and what “sounded like two gunshots.”
“When we were talking, we heard someone screaming, like really loudly, and they sounded pretty erratic,” Haseloff claims to Us. “I heard a male screaming [something] like, ‘Someone needs to come get me! Someone needs to get me out of here!”
Haseloff adds, “It sounded like someone was screaming, like, ‘Stop! Or put that down!’ But there was just like a lot of screaming all at once.”
Before she heard gunshots, Haseloff claims she heard a man “screaming really loudly, and he did sound very angry, and I clearly heard him say, ‘Someone needs to pick me up or get me out of here’ multiple times.”
Us has reached out to police and rangers at the Medina County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
A spokesperson for the Medina County Sheriff’s Office told TMZ on Wednesday, November 12, that Duarte was shot by police in Castroville after officers responded to a 911 call. The sheriff’s office told the outlet that police received a call about a “male subject with a knife acting erratically,” who was later identified as Duarte.
Once officers arrived on the scene, Duarte reportedly approached a responding deputy in an allegedly threatening manner. After “multiple verbal commands” were given to the food influencer to “get on the ground,” he allegedly “charged” the deputy.
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The spokesperson claims that Duarte yelled, “I’m going to kill you,” as he moved toward one of the officers, which is when the deputy fired two rounds from their weapon and struck him.
Duarte was reportedly given medical aid on scene. He was then transported to University Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, where he was pronounced dead.
News of Duarte’s death broke on Wednesday after a GoFundMe page was set up to cover funeral costs and support his family, including wife Jessica and their 6-year-old daughter, Oakley.
“The world may know him as ‘FoodwithBearHands,’ but to us, he was a loving husband, father, brother and a great friend to many,” the page said after revealing that Duarte, who amassed more than 2 million followers on social media for his food videos, had died in a “horrible accident.”
“This heartbreak came without warning, leaving Jessica to incur the expense of bringing him back home to California and covering funeral expenses,” the description continued. “During this time, and in the months/years ahead, we want to make sure that Jessica and Oakley are taken care of as Michael would have wanted them to be. Your support would bring comfort, stability and a reminder that they are not carrying this weight alone.”
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