Texas woman killed after shooter shouted anti-gay slur, per report
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A woman was killed in an Austin suburb after a man called her an anti-gay slur, according to an arrest affidavit released Friday.
Driving the news: The man arrested in the fatal shooting of a woman outside a Cedar Park gas station in early June called her a homophobic slur before firing three shots at her, per the affidavit, as reported by the Austin American-Statesman.
What happened: Akira Ross, 24, drove up to a Cedar Park gas station on June 2, traveling with her partner, Tanya (who has asked that her last name be withheld due to safety concerns), and a friend.
- Ross and her partner were having a "small verbal argument," the friend recounted to police, per the affidavit. The friend thought the argument caught the attention of Bradley Stanford, 23, who was parked two gas islands away.
- After Ross' partner walked into the gas station store, Stanford approached the vehicle and began to speak to Ross — who grew "agitated," the friend told police. The friend could not hear what was said, per the affidavit.
- After Ross headed to the store, the friend said, Stanford began digging around in his car as if he was getting a gun, according to the affidavit, per the American-Statesman. The friend sent a text message to Tanya that read, "Yo tell the cash person this man got a gun and trying to get KB (Ross)," according to the affidavit.
- Ross came out of the store a few minutes later and was standing by the front of her car when Stanford walked over to her, police said. The affidavit says the friend heard Stanford yell a gay slur at Ross and fire three rounds.
Stanford left the scene and was then arrested in San Patricio County, in South Texas, nearly 48 hours later, per the Cedar Park Police Department.
- He was booked into the Williamson County Jail, charged with murder, last Wednesday, per jail records.
What they're saying: "This loss comes so quickly into the beginning of our month where most can feel at liberty to be free and to be their selves," per Christopher Salas, the host of a GoFundMe page raising money for Ross' family.
Between the lines: The Cedar Park City Council on Thursday passed a resolution for the second year in a row proclaiming June 2023 as LGBTQIA+ Pride Month.
- A host of fast-growing, increasingly diverse Austin suburbs have recently launched Pride events.
Yes, but: "We want more and we deserve more," Kelley Holliday, a board member of Cedar Park Pride, told the Cedar Park City Council last week. LGBTQ+ people "are being harassed, intimidated, bullied and now murdered.
- "We are outraged that the city and police department have not made it evident that this was a hate crime — not a random event, not road rage.
- "Bigoted rhetoric and hateful behavior from banning books to explicit slurs and downright lies lead to this type of violence," she continued.
Zoom in: “This remains an ongoing investigation and we are actively looking at all avenues of the case,” Cedar Park Police Department spokesperson Alicia Gallagher tells Axios.
Zoom out: Pride events are operating in the shadow of the Texas Capitol, where lawmakers have recently been working to restrict LGBTQ+ rights and rid libraries of books with gay characters and themes.
- And the school districts in the Austin suburbs have often been ground zero for the cultural wars engulfing the state.
- In Taylor, police are regularly deployed to protect Pride events, per a recent report by the PBS NewsHour.
What's next: Cedar Park Pride and Leander Pride are teaming up July 15 to host a Pride event at the Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Church in Cedar Park.