Nick Offerman Says Parks And Rec Cast Is Mourning Jonathan Joss After Ken Hotate Actor Was Shot To Death By Neighbor

Despite the past week being a celebratory one for King of the Hill’s revival, with Mike Judge and Greg Daniels’ upcoming reboot releasing the updated opening titles, tragedy also struck the fanbase regarding the death of voice actor Jonathan Joss, who was shot to death by an alleged neighbor after a weekend altercation. But Parks and Recreation fans no doubt remember the actor best as Pawnee’s Chief Ken Hotate, and former co-star Nick Offerman says the cast has also been in contact while mourning the loss.

Having played the mustachioed P&R director for all seven seasons of the NBC mockumentary, Nick Offerman became a household name for his hilarious performances as Ron Swanson. But there’s not much laughter happening in the aftermath of Joss’ tragic death, and the Umbrella Academy vet shared an update with People that confirmed he and other Parks and Rec stars were aware of, and were reacting to, the shocking news. In his words:

Jonathan Joss' work on Parks and Rec speaks to how memorable even the smallest role can be with the right actor involved, as he remains a beloved side character within Pawnee's cultural fabric despite appearing in only five of the show's 126 episodes. He first appeared in Season 3's "Harvest Festival," as the leader of the local Wamapoke tribe who, because this is TV, also runs a casino. Though he initially threatened to put a curse on the festival, cooler heads prevailed, and it was clear that Chief Ken was as much of a joker as other characters.

Here's a lineup of the episodes that Jonathan Joss can be seen in, and all are available to stream with a Peacock subscription.

• Season 3' "Harvest Festival"
• Season 5's "Two Parties" and "Are You Better Off?"
• Season 7's "2017" and "The Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show"

It's unclear exactly which Parks and Rec cast members Nick Offerman was talking about, and it doesn't appear as if any other stars have publicly spoken out about Jonathan Joss' death. But it's possible that others will share tributes as the details surrounding his death are figured out.

Police were called to a residence on the south side of San Antonio, Texas on Sunday night after a shooting occurred, with initial reports stating that Joss got into an argument with a neighbor who allegedly brandished a gun and shot the actor multiple times before fleeting the scene in a vehicle. Before long, authorities had tracked the suspect down and identified him as Sigfredo Alvarez Cejam before booking him for murder and assigning him a $200,000 bond.

The investigation is ongoing, but Jonathan Joss' husband Tristan Kem de Gonzales shared a lengthy series of claims on the actor's Facebook page alleging that the couple was "harassed regularly" by those in their neighborhood who seemingly did not agree with the men's relationship. Gonzales claims that he and Joss were at a property to pick up their mail and saw one of their dogs' skulls on display, which sparked an emotional response.

He claims that as he and Joss were crying out over their pet, a man approached them while "yelling violent homophotic slurs" before raising a gun and firing it. Gonzales says that Joss pushed him out of the way of danger and "saved my life." He continued:

A GoFundMe campaign was started up in January to help balance the loss of a house fire that wiped out his family home and killed serveral pets. At this time, donations continue to come in, and the campaign did indeed surpass its initial goal of $15,000.