The cast of Parks and Recreation are “heartbroken” over the fatal shooting of actor Jonathan Joss in Texas, his co-star Nick Offerman has said.
Joss, 59, was killed outside his burned-down home in San Antonio on Sunday after an alleged campaign of homophobic harassment against him and his new husband Tristan Kern de Gonzales.
The actor was best known for playing John Redcorn in the animated comedy King of the Hill and Chief Ken Hotate in Parks and Recreation, among numerous other TV, film and video game roles.
“The cast has been texting together about it all day and we’re just heartbroken,” said Nick Offerman, who played the comically masculine Ron Swanson, in a statement to People magazine on Monday.
“Jonathan was such a sweet guy and we loved having him as our Chief Ken Hotate. A terrible tragedy.”
Chris Pratt, whose career went stratospheric following his role as Andy Dwyer in Parks and Rec, also paid tribute to Joss on his Instagram Story.
“Damn. RIP Jonathan. Always such a kind dude,” Pratt wrote. “Sad to see. Prayers up. Hug your loved ones.”
Prosecutors have charged Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja with murdering Joss. Police are still investigating what happened.
In a post via Joss’s Facebook page on Monday, Kern de Gonzales alleged that the couple’s house had burned down in February after two years of arson threats from “individuals who made it clear they did not accept our relationship”.
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He said that he and Joss had gone back to the house on Sunday to collect mail, only to find “the skull of one of our dogs and its harness placed in clear view.”
The two men were deeply disturbed and :began yelling and crying.” A man allegedly approached them and yelled homophobic abuse, before drawing a weapon and shooting Joss.
However, the San Antonio Police Department said: “Despite online claims of this being a hate crime, currently the investigation has found no evidence to indicate that the Mr. Joss’s murder was related to his sexual orientation.
“SAPD investigators handle these allegations very seriously and have thoroughly reviewed all available information. Should any new evidence come to light, the suspect will be charged accordingly.”
Running from 2009 to 2015, Parks and Recreation chronicled the misadventures of local government officials in the fictional U.S. town of Pawnee. Joss’s character, Ken Hotate, was a casino owner and the leader of the area’s Native American tribe.
