Last week, Michael Duarte, the food influencer known as FoodWithBearHands, died in Texas after what a GoFundMe benefiting his wife and young daughter initially described as a “horrible accident.” In an Instagram post, his management company, which announced his death, remembered him as a “true & loyal partner, a trusted collaborator, and above all, a remarkable person.” “His warmth, kindness, and generosity were felt in every interaction, and he had a way of making everyone around him feel valued and inspired,” the company wrote in a statement on Instagram.
On Wednesday, police announced that Duarte was shot by a sheriff’s deputy on November 8 during a “disturbance.” According to USA Today, police responded to a call in Castroville, Texas, for an incident “involving a male subject with a knife acting erratically.” Duarte was allegedly “making threats to kill everyone” and “attempting to assault Fire and EMS personnel,” Medina County sheriff Randy Brown told the outlet.
After a deputy made “multiple verbal commands” to get on the ground, Duarte allegedly “charged toward the deputy while yelling, ‘I’m going to kill you.’” The deputy fired his gun, shooting Duarte twice, and he was later pronounced dead at a hospital. The incident is now reportedly under investigation. A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Cut.
Duarte had over 800,000 followers on Instagram, where he was most known for his barbecue recipes. Two weeks before he died, he shared in a post that he got into making cooking videos after going to rehab for a mental-health crisis.
According to his family’s GoFundMe, Duarte died three days after he and his wife celebrated their ninth anniversary. The two had one daughter, who is 6. “The world may know him as ‘FoodwithBearHands,’ but to us, he was a loving husband, father, brother, and a great friend to many,” the fundraiser states.
In an Instagram post on Thursday, Duarte’s wife, Jessica, broke her silence on the death of her husband. “I feel so touched and proud to know so many people that he has inspired over his time here on earth. I plan to keep his legacy going not only for him but his family,” she wrote. “He gave everyone every bit of him so it’s my turn to give it back. I’m not quite sure what that looks like yet but hopefully he will lead me on that path.”
She also hit back against “false narratives” she said she’d seen about his death, calling them “disheartening and disrespectful to the legacy of a wonderful man.” “This is an active investigation and I ask that all media and the public refrain from sharing unverified information,” she wrote.
This post has been updated.
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