HOUSTON — A man shot to death during a block party is yet another tragedy a northeast Houston family has to face.
23-year-old Breon Stuard is one of three victims gunned down near Laura Koppe and Lockwood early Saturday morning. KHOU 11 News spoke to his fiancée, who is praying someone finds it in their heart to come forward with information.
Saturday night was a night like no other for Ashlyn Winter.
"Definitely disbelief and him not coming last night just being here and him not here. Hoping he’d walk through the door, that was kind of sad," she said.
Ashlyn is in the beginning stages of grief and trying to figure out life moving forward without the love of her life.
"Really so genuine, could light up a whole room. With just his smile, his words. A real genuine soul," she said.
Just before 3 a.m. Saturday, she got the devastating call explaining how chaos and gunfire erupted at a northeast Houston intersection and how her fiancé ended up caught in the center.
She said anxiety typically kept Stuard away from big crowds.
"The person that you’re with for so long every day and then finally it’s permanent. You’re never going to see them again and that hurts. That’s a different type of hurt. I don’t wish that on nobody," she said.
Winter experienced devastating loss before when the couple lost their baby last June due to preeclampsia. But she didn't cope alone.
"We were both able to grieve our baby together, and I wasn't on my own. But now I’m on my own grieving him," she said.
In tragedies like this, she said, your feelings change minute to minute. Right now, she and Stuard's mother lean on one another. Their shared grief somehow holds each other up with help from hope and prayer.
"So, I pray that if you know something you say something," Winter said.
24-year-old Jarvis Faultry was also killed. A third victim succumbed to his injuries Saturday night. He has not been named.
Those hurt include seven men and one woman, ranging in age from 22 to 49. Police said they all suffered gunshot wounds. They were taken to area hospitals and are expected to survive.
The truck involved was last seen driving west on Laura Koppe toward I-59. Investigators said surveillance video in the area was low quality, making it hard to give a good description of the suspects. There's no word on a motive.
If you know anything about what happened, you're asked to contact HPD homicide at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477.