A Surrey, B.C., woman is being hailed as a hero for saving her son before being murdered in a shooting spree in Texas last week.
Sabrina Rahman, 24, was one of six people allegedly fatally shot by Shane James in a bloody rampage through Austin on Dec. 5.
“It was right in front of my house. She saw one of our tradesmen get gunned down in a car, she turned around, ran with our baby in the stroller, went to the neighbouring house, hid my son in a stroller behind a couple of patio chairs, kind of just barricaded him in so he wasn’t visible,” Rahman’s widower Ishraq Islam told Global News.
“As she turned around the gunman was pretty close to her and shot her in the head and she collapsed. Luckily he didn’t see the baby, and he continued off.”
Islam and Rahman had moved to Austin just over a year ago to work for his family’s real estate and development company.
They had only lived in the house where she was killed for a day before the horrific shooting.
“It was a mass shooting. He killed his parents in the morning, I think he shot a police officer, he killed a mother and a daughter, he ended up killing my wife, he killed one of my tradesmen, Emanuel, who also has three children and a wife he is leaving behind. I don’t really get it,” Islam said.
“It just doesn’t make sense.”
The couple’s former neighbours in Surrey have since launched a GoFundMe campaign, to support the grieving family of a woman Islam described as “unselfish, very caring” and someone who “just wanted everyone to be happy.”
In the week since the shooting it has raised more than $33,000
“In the face of this tragedy, we come together as a community to extend our love, support, and financial assistance to Ishraq and their son during this incredibly challenging time,” the fundraiser states.
“The funds raised will help alleviate the financial burdens that accompany such unexpected and devastating events, including funeral expenses and the ongoing care of Sabrina and Ishraq’s beloved son.”
Islam said he has been overwhelmed by the support from friends and family back in Canada, adding it has helped him get through the dark moments after the tragedy.
Islam said nothing will ever be able to bring his wife back, but said he hopes she’ll be remembered for her final act.
“Most people I think would just freeze, scream. She just had that mothers instinct, she was just so attached to that baby she had him on her mind,” he said.
“I hope my son, he’s going to know one day how much of a hero his mom was, she risked everything for him and she’d do it over and over again. She loved him a lot, it’s going to be tough.”
James is currently facing the charges of aggravated assault and four charges of capital murder, which is punishable by the death penalty.
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