Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
Sabrina Rahman of Surrey, B.C., is being remembered as a “hero” and a “vibrant soul” after she saved her infant son from a gunman who killed her and five others in Austin, Texas last week.
Rahman, 24, was walking her one-year-old son, Ibrahim, in their new neighbourhood shortly after noon on Dec. 5 when the alleged gunman opened fire, killing her friend, Emmanuel Pop Ba, before her eyes. Rahman’s husband, Ishraq Islam, told CBC News his wife watched as Ba was killed just outside their home.
Islam said his wife immediately fled with their son toward a neighbour’s house, where she hid Ibrahim from the shooter’s view.
“Sabrina, being unselfish and just having that mother instinct, she turned around,” Islam said. “She saw some patio chairs. She guided the stroller with Ibrahim inside, behind the patio chairs, and barricaded him so he wasn’t visible.”
But Rahman soon came face to face with the gunman, Islam said, and was shot in the head. She collapsed a few feet away from their son, but the gunman didn’t see Ibrahim and left the area, Islam said.
“In her last seconds, she didn’t fold. She didn’t crumble. She definitely didn’t drop the ball. She did what any other loving mother would do,” he said.
The family relocated to the state capital last year to work for Islam’s family’s real estate business, and had just moved into their new home the day before the shooting.
While Sabrina died weeks shy of her 25th birthday, Islam says their son is “going to grow up knowing how much of a hero his mom was.”
Rahman was among six people killed in the spree on Dec. 5, according to Austin police, including the suspect’s own parents. (Austin Police)
Police in Austin say three people were injured, including a police officer, and six people were killed in the eight-hour shooting spree — including Rahman, Ba and the suspect’s own parents.
Shane James Jr., 34, has been charged with four counts of capital murder, including Rahman and Ba’s deaths, and is also facing three charges of aggravated assault, according to Austin police. If convicted of capital murder, he faces the death penalty.
‘A vibrant soul’
Islam says his wife’s actions in her last moments are no surprise to anyone who knew her.
“She was just an awesome, awesome, awesome mom and a wonderful wife and an amazing daughter,” he said.
“She’s just all about Ibrahim. From the moment he was born, everything she did was for him. Every minute she spent was with him. So it doesn’t surprise me that she did what she did.”
Islam says he is still waiting for answers, including why a public alert wasn’t issued sooner after the suspect allegedly shot an Austin police sergeant around 10:40 a.m. local time, two hours before Rahman was killed.
“But there’s nothing I can do now. She’s gone. My son doesn’t have a mom. I don’t have a wife,” he said.
Islam said he is grateful for the support of his family in Austin and their communities in Texas and Surrey.
A family friend launched a crowdfunding campaign in support of Rahman’s family earlier this week, aiming to raise $50,000.
Rahman was “a vibrant soul” killed in “an act of senseless violence,” according to the fundraiser page.
“She leaves behind a legacy of warmth, kindness, and an everlasting love for her family.”
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Credit belongs to : ca.news.yahoo.com
