Death – Obituary – Accident and Crime News : Families of the victims in South Austin are coming forward to share their grief and frustration following a tragic shooting spree that left six people dead and three injured across Austin and San Antonio. The latest incident occurred on Shadywood Drive in South Austin on Tuesday, December 5, claiming the lives of 24-year-old Sabrina Rahman and 32-year-old Emmanuel Pop Ba.
Marshall Hussain, Rahman’s uncle, spoke about his niece and her family’s recent move to the area. “She’s just the sweetest person in the world,” he said. “They had been talking about moving to a safer area for months, and they had just moved here two days before the tragedy. They didn’t even have a chance to settle in.”
Pop Ba, described as a friend and handyman, was eating lunch in his truck when he was shot. His brother, Mario Gabriel Cas, expressed his anguish in Spanish, saying, “It hurts that a family member’s life can be taken away in an instant. My brother and I came to this country to work and provide a good life for our families.”
Hussain revealed that Rahman was walking with her baby when the shooting occurred. In a desperate attempt to save her child, she pushed the baby behind a car, but tragically, she was shot in the face.
Criticism has emerged regarding the communication efforts of the Austin Police Department (APD) during the investigation. While officers have been praised for their bravery and dedication in apprehending the suspect, Shane James Jr., concerns have been raised about the delay in alerting the public about the ongoing threat.
“They took too long to alert something because this fellow had already committed a crime earlier in the day, and it was not far from our neighborhood,” Hussain stated. Pop Ba’s family echoed these sentiments, expressing their desire for justice and their plans to bring his body back to Guatemala, his home country. Similarly, Rahman’s family hopes to repatriate her body to Bangladesh, where her parents reside.
As the investigation continues, the families of the victims are left to mourn their loved ones and seek solace in the pursuit of justice. The community is rallying together, demanding improved communication from law enforcement agencies and hoping that no more lives will be lost to senseless violence.