Left: Smoke Skybar (KENS 5). Right inset: Ayden Burt (Jasper Independent School District)
A 28-year-old Jasper County, Texas, teacher who was in San Antonio from several hours away to attend a high school coaches convention was killed at a rooftop bar event early Tuesday by a “stray bullet” that may have been fired from nearby I-37 at random. Now authorities have opened a murder investigation.
According to the San Antonio Police Department, homicide detectives are still looking for answers after Ayden Burt was “randomly shot and killed” by a bullet that hit her in the back just after midnight at Smoke Skybar, where a Texas High School Coaches Association Conference-related event was held.
WOAI reported that San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said “it’s very, very difficult to put this together without a witness or without some kind of video.”
“She was struck by a single bullet in the back while she was seated outside on the patio. This appears that it may have come from the highway. Someone randomly shooting as they drove by,” McManus reportedly said, adding, “We don’t have a known suspect vehicle at the moment.”
Robert Murphy, identified by local CBS affiliate KENS as a witness to the shooting aftermath, posted that he was “truly traumatized” by the fact that he was sitting “right next to” Burt — “a beautiful soul” — and that they were “laughing and talking about all the great things she wanted to accomplish this school year” just moments before she was fatally shot.
“This young lady lay bleeding out in my lap as we tried desperately to get help. Please also keep my coaches in your prayers as they did everything in their power to save her life doing CPR. Their courage and selflessness was something I’ll forever be thankful for,” Murphy wrote on Facebook. “I’m devastated beyond measure but will continue to look to the hills where all our help comes from.”
The football coach from Humble called for justice and said his team will honor Burt this season.
Burt, who later died at a hospital, was identified as a teacher and a volleyball and track coach at Jasper County High School.
On Tuesday, the Jasper Independent School District Superintendent John Seybold said it was “with a heavy heart that we have learned” of Burt’s death.
“Ayden has been teaching in Jasper ISD since 2019, teaching English at both Jasper High School and Jasper Jr. High, also serving as a Cheer Sponsor and Coach,” Seybold said. “We ask that everyone respect the privacy of the family and staff at this time.”
Adrian Martinez, the owner of Smoke Skybar, posted a video on Facebook expressing that he is “deeply saddened” that Burt “fell victim to a random and senseless act of violence.”
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family and loved ones in this very, very difficult time,” he said, clearly emotional about the toll of gun violence in America. “I’ve never experienced a situation such as this. Last night I might have slept 10, 15 minutes at the most. And if I look tired, it’s because I’m exhausted, trying to process all of this. It made me think of not only what’s going on in our city, but what’s going on in our state and our country as a whole.”
“Last week, someone tried to assassinate our former president of the United States. A few weeks before that, an employee working at Sonic was shot. Last year during a fiesta, multiple individuals at Market Square were shot as well. And two years ago at the state fair, there was a mass shooting,” he said. “And all of this strikes a chord with me because it brings up what’s really going on in our community, what’s really going on in our community.”
Martinez said that Burt, an “innocent person,” tragically lost her life because “a stray bullet off of Highway 37 was shot into the crowd.”
San Antonio cops are asking anyone who can help solve Burt’s murder to call 210-207-7635.
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