Cheerleading Coach Fatally Struck By Stray Bullet While Visiting Texas Conference

A cheerleading coach visiting San Antonio for a conference was killed after being struck by a stray bullet on Tuesday, local police announced.

Jasper High School English teacher and cheer coach Ayden Rose Burt, 28, was in town for the Texas High School Coaches Association Conference when she was “randomly shot” at a local rooftop bar patio, according to the announcement.

Authorities believe the bullet that shot Burt in the upper back was fired from a nearby highway, police told HuffPost in an email.She was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.

No suspect has been identified, and the investigation is ongoing, police told HuffPost. It’s unclear why the gunshot was fired. No one else was injured.

“It’s very, very difficult to put this together without a witness or without some kind of video,” San Antonio Police Chief William McManus told News 4 San Antonio .

Just hours before the shooting, the Texas Hispanic Coaches Association promoted the gathering at Smoke SkyBar on social media .

Adrian Martinez, the owner of Smoke SkyBar, addressed the incident on Facebook , stating that he is “deeply saddened” and described it as a “random and senseless act of violence.”

“Words cannot explain the sorrow I feel for this loss, and our team is grieving as a whole,” Martinez said.

The Jasper Independent School District said in a statement online that Burt had taught English at its middle and high schools since 2019 and asked the public to pray for friends, family and students.

Jasper ISD Superintendent John Seybold described Burt in an interview with KBMT as a “kindhearted” person who was just starting her teaching career.

According to the Gun Violence Archive , 9,627 people have died in the U.S. in shootings so far this year. An average of 4,122 people die by guns in Texas a year, costing the state $51.3 billion, according to data by nonprofit group Everytown .