'King of the Hill' voice actor Jonathan Joss killed in San Antonio shooting, police say

Jonathan Joss, the voice actor known for his character John Redcorn on King of the Hill, was killed in a shooting in San Antonio on Sunday, police said.

The suspect, Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja, 56, was taken into custody and faces murder charges, the San Antonio Police Department said, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

Officers responded to a call about a shooting around 7 p.m. on Sunday. Police found Joss, 59, who had been shot, near the roadway, and attempted lifesaving measures until EMS arrived and pronounced him dead.

Ceja, who was Joss’s neighbor, initially fled the scene but was caught by police one block away, the Express-News reported. The investigation into what happened and Ceja’s motive remains ongoing, according to police.

In a statement posted to Joss's Facebook page, his husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, said that they were checking the mail at the the site of their former home when a man approached and "started yelling violent homophobic slurs" at them, raised a gun and opened fire.

“Jonathan and I had no weapons. We were not threatening anyone," the statement read. "When the man fired, Jonathan pushed me out of the way. He saved my life.”

Joss was best known for his role as John Redcorn in King of the Hill, which aired from 1997 until 2009. He took over for the original Redcorn voice actor, Victor Aaron, in the show’s second season, after Aaron died in a car accident. Joss also played the recurring role of Chief Ken Hotate in NBC’s Parks and Recreation and appeared onscreen in Ray Donovan, True Grit and The Magnificent Seven.

King of the Hill was revived for its 14th season, which will premiere on Hulu in August. Joss was not invited to partake in the revival, but he did attend the King of the Hill cast panel at 7 p.m. local time at Austin’s ATX TV Festival on Friday, roughly 48 hours before he was found shot in San Antonio.

Joss lost two dogs and his San Antonio childhood home in a fire in January.

“This is a house I grew up in. I’m more concerned about my dog that died, but you know what? The good Lord will protect us,” Joss told KSAT at the time, adding that his father built the home in 1957.

Joss was of Comanche and White Mountain Apache ancestry, and his performances as Native characters on TV resonated with a lot of fans who took to social media to commend Joss’s work.

“John Redcorn was pretty much the only contemporary Native representation I had in comedy growing up,” one viewer wrote on X. “Probably the funniest Native character in cartoon history and a lot of that was on Jonathan Joss’ pitch perfect rezzy uncle performance. RIP to one of the best to ever do it.”

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the day this shooting took place.