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1 year ago
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The husband of a Texas mass shooting victim has revealed his wife bravely threw their baby out of harm's way as a gunman hunted her down.
Sabrina Rahman, 24, was one of six people killed during a day-long rampage across San Antonio and Austin on Tuesday.
Shane James, 34, was booked in Travis County Jail in the early hours of Wednesday over the incident on capital murder charges as well as three other out-of-jurisdiction crimes that are not specified.
Rahman's husband Ishraq Islam spoke out about her murder for the first time during an interview with local television station KIII and praised her for being a 'hero'.
'She threw my baby – she threw the stroller to the side towards the home,' he said. 'She saved his life. The gunman shot her, and he took off.'
Ishraq Islam, the husband of a Texas mass shooting victim, has revealed his wife bravely threw their baby out of harm's way as a gunman hunted her down
Sabrina Rahman, 24, was one of six people killed during a day-long rampage across San Antonio and Austin on Tuesday
Shane James, 34, was booked in Travis County Jail in the early hours of Wednesday over the incident on four counts of capital murder as well as three other out-of-jurisdiction crimes that are not specified
Rahman was shot and killed a day after moving into a new neighborhood with her husband and 18-month-old son Ibrahim.
She saw tradesman Emmanuel Pop Ba, get shot in front of her house and she ran off screaming.
'She screamed. She went the opposite way. The gunman followed her, approached her,' Islam said.
'She got hit in the head, she collapsed. She's a hero. She saved my son.'
Her family have been left devastated following her death but they are determined to stay strong for her baby boy.
'We're cut up in a million pieces,' Islam said. 'We're going to show him how heroic his mom was and [how] she put her life, put everything on the line to save him. And we're going to make sure he has an amazing life.'
Rahman and her husband moved to Austin with their son from Vancouver, British Columbia, last year.
'We built two houses here and were ready to start our new lives in a good neighborhood,' he added.
'It's only been a year, and we came here for a fresh start. And then this happens.'
Islam said sparks flew when he first met his wife and said: 'She's the one. There's no one else that could ever replace her.
'Shortly after we got married, within two months, my little brother passed away and she's a blessing.
'She was there for the whole family. She's like an angel that was sent at the perfect time.'
Rahman was shot and killed a day after moving into a new neighborhood with her husband and 18-month-old son Ibrahim
Her family have been left devastated following her death but they are determined to stay strong for her baby boy
Rahman and her husband moved to Austin with their son from Vancouver, British Columbia, last year
Rahman's funeral was held at the Islamic Center of Greater Austin at Masjid Khaedjah on Friday afternoon,
A fundraising page has been set up for her family on GoFundMe and it has so far raised $9,500 out of an $18,000 goal.
Suspect James is suspected of also shooting two police officers, including one who was shot in the leg outside a high school in Austin.
He was seen on Wednesday afternoon in a new booking mugshot - with a red scratch on his left cheek and a splatter of blood in on his forehead and hairline.
News 4 San Antonio reported that James was bonded out by Texas Organizing Project early last year on three assault charges. The project is a police reform group that helped the Bexar Co. DA and Sheriff get elected.
The first reported incident occurred just before 11 a.m. on Tuesday at a high school in the Texas capital, where James allegedly shot an Austin Independent School District police officer.
Shortly after that, authorities believe he shot and killed a man and woman at a home in the southern part of the city. At 5pm, a male cyclist was shot, also in the southern part of the city.
That shooting was also linked to James. The victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Two hours later, a second Austin police officer was wounded by the suspect when someone called 911 to report a burglary in a home in the southwestern part of the city.
This prompted a high-speed chase which resulted in James being arrested. When officers returned to that home, they found two more people dead inside.
By Tuesday night, officials announced that the same suspect was involved in the 'grisly' murder of a couple in their 50s whose bodies were found stuffed in a small bedroom in San Antonio, some 80 miles from Austin.
The gunman first came to the attention of officers when he shot a school resource officer in the leg close to the football field of Northeast Early College High School just before noon. This prompted a school lockdown which lasted for four hours.
Less than an hour later, the gunman went to a home in South Austin and shot a handyman who was sitting in a car. The suspect shot through the window.
After the gunfire broke out, a woman came outside who was then chased by the gunman down the street. He caught her, and killed her, Fox Austin report.
The suspect returned to the handyman's car, threw his body to the pavement, and stole the vehicle.
The next incident occurred around 5pm when a cyclist was shot and wounded. He was rushed to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Officers caught up with the gunman after receiving reports of a burglary at the Austral Loop in the southwest part of Austin just before 7pm.
James was arrested in connection with a series of shootings that killed at six people and injured two police officers
The incident began just before 11 a.m. at Northeast Early College High School, where the suspect allegedly shot one of the officers for the Austin Independent School District
Minutes later, he was in South Austin, where he's accused of shooting and killing two people on Shadywood Drive
Neighbors claimed that the people who lived there had only move in days earlier, saying that the man of the house had brought over cookies and apologized for any disruptions their construction had caused
The gunman shot and injured a second Austin police officer before fleeing. The officer's injuries are not considered life-threatening.
A 12-year-veteran office shot at the suspect but didn't hit him. She has been placed on administrative leave, as per protocol.
The suspect fled the scene and left police on a high-speed chase.
The chase ended after around 15 minutes with the suspect crashing his car at the intersection of State Highway 45 and FM 1826.
He was armed when police arrested him. Investigators discovered that the suspect had a warrant out for causing injury to a family member.
When police returned to the home where the burglary had been reported, they found the bodies of two more people.
In San Antonio, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said that the couple who were found dead were 'well-known' in the community and said their home was 'very-well maintained.'
Salazar, who described the murders as 'grisly,' says officials think the pair were killed before the shootings in Austin.
'No one deserves to die the way they did,' the sheriff said.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a statement on the shooting.
'Our hearts are with the family and loved ones of the Austin ISD police officer who was shot near Northeast Early College High School today,' Abbott said.
'Our ISD police officers play a critical role on keeping Texas students and school faculty safe.
'The State of Texas is offering all available resources to local law enforcement partners who are working to ensure this dangerous criminal is caught and brought to justice.'
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