A man accused of fatally shooting a gay woman outside a gasoline station in Texas has been charged with murder, and her loved ones are asking authorities to examine the deadly occurrence as a hate criminal activity, since they believe she was eliminated since of her sexual preference, according to several report.
On June 2, at around 9:50 p.m., Akira Ross, 24, was pumping gas at a station in Cedar Park, an Austin suburban area, when she was shot and killed by a man police say she didn’t know, according to a statement from the Cedar Park Police Department. She was noticable dead at the scene and the shooter drove away.
The alleged shooter has actually been determined by police as 23-year-old v. He was detained at about 5:15 p.m. on June 4 after private investigators traced him more than 200 miles south to Ingleside, Texas, according to the statement.
He has actually been charged with first-degree murder and is being held in the San Patricio County Jail. Bond details wasn’t instantly readily available. It’s uncertain if he has entered a plea or retained an attorney to speak on his behalf.
While details on what led up to the shooting remained scarce, Ross’ partner and father both told the Austin American-Statesman that Stanford supposedly shouted gay slurs at Ross prior to the shooting..
” It was a hate crime,” stated Ross’ daddy, Anthony Hill, per the outlet. “She didn’t understand him. She gets out of the cars and truck, and he starts calling her gay slurs for no factor.”.
Ross’ partner, Tanya, who was at the filling station with Ross and another buddy when the violence unfolded, said she was warned that Stanford was supposedly waving a weapon outside the station’s corner store, and that Stanford asked Ross to shake her hand while she was pumping gas, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
Tanya added that she recorded part of the conversation– not the actual shooting– and supplied it to Cedar Park authorities in hopes of tracking the gunman down..
” We didn’t expect him to do what he did,” she informed the outlet.
According to cops, “there was some sort of spoken exchange in between Stanford and Ross in the car park outside her automobile prior to Stanford apparently fatally shot Ross and fled the scene in his car.” Authorities have actually not provided any extra information.
While the examination stays active and continuous, Hill states he’s handling an unimaginable loss.
” But to get a call to say your child is dead, that’s it. That’s like swallowing a razor blade,” Hill told KVUE. “It’s unimaginable, unimaginable, inhumane to have to leave this earth like that.”.
A GoFundMe page has actually been developed to assist Ross’ household with funeral service and memorial costs.
” Akiara was the victim of a shooting in Cedar Park for the sole factor of being queer,” the fundraising event checks out.
” I’m requesting the community and allies to come together in order to support the loss of our LGBTQIA+ sibling,” the page continues. “This loss comes so quickly into the start of our month where most can feel at liberty to be totally free and to be [themselves]”.
