Human Interest

Mark Brandon Dominguez

Mark Brandon Dominguez was an aspiring firefighter whose main objective was to protect others.

So when family and friends learned that the 17-year-old Akins High School student went out shortly after midnight Sunday to investigate an attempted burglary at his South Austin home, it came as no surprise to those who loved him.

But what police say happened next in the normally quiet Canterbury Trails neighborhood did. They said Dominguez was shot and killed by a teenager.

"It doesn't surprise me that he went outside to see what was going on," said Lt. Eddie Dominguez, a Travis County firefighter who wasn't related to the teen but had mentored him for the past two years. "He knew he was a servant to the public, and I believe he went out to be that servant, to figure out what was going on."

Dominguez, who went by his middle name and would have turned 18 on Jan. 29, was an active member of an "Explorers" program in which at-risk and low-income teens learn the ropes on becoming firefighters. The high school junior was saving up money to enter a firefighting academy after turning 18, Lt. Dominguez said.

His mother approached the team at Manchaca Fire Rescue department's station near Slaughter Lane and Manchaca Road two years ago asking about the program for her son. Lt Dominguez agreed to take the teen into the program if he worked to improve his grades at school. He was up to A's and B's this past year, thanks to his ambitions to become a firefighter, Lt. Dominguez said.

During his free time, he visited the fire station after school or on weekends, sometimes staying on for 24-hour shifts.

"We always told him, don't be the guy who is laying on the recliner and watching TV," said Lt. Dominguez, a 10 -year firefighting veteran. "He was always the first one up to do the chores; he was always keeping busy - he knew how to be a good rookie."

About 12:45 a.m. Sunday, Brandon Dominguez and two of his brothers heard suspicious noises outside their home. Thinking that someone was trying to break into the family car, they went out to investigate. Dominguez encountered his assailant and was shot, police officials have said. He was found in the 11100 block of Franklins Tale Loop and taken to University Medical Center Brackenridge, where he later died, officials said Sunday.

Police said they found two boys in a taxi, including one who matched the description of the teen involved in the shooting. Both were carrying weapons and were charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, officials have said. The teen involved in the shooting, a 16-year-old, was charged with murder, officials said.

Police will not release the teen suspect's name unless he is charged as an adult, a decision that is up to the Travis County district attorney's office, police spokeswoman Veneza Aguiñaga said Monday.

Police have not dismissed the possibility that the suspects knew Dominguez, Aguiñaga said. An investigation is ongoing, she said.

On Monday, grief counselors were on campus at Akins High to talk to students mourning Dominguez's death. On Sunday, the school district said it was "deeply saddened by this tragic loss."

The Manchaca Fire Rescue department plans to hold a ceremony for the aspiring firefighter, Dominguez said.

           "He was a servant to the public, and we are going to honor him," Lt. Eddie Dominguez said.