A mother was shot and killed Tuesday at a Texas cemetery while visiting the grave of her recently deceased son for his “first birthday in heaven,” police and her ex-husband said.
52-year-old Yolanda N’Gaojia was fatally shot just after 5 p.m. at the Calvary Baptist Church Garden of Memories Cemetery in Killeen.
A second victim was also injured during the incident. That individual suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was treated and released at the scene, authorities said. Their identity has not been made public.
“I have no words because I can’t believe this is real,” Yolanda’s ex-husband Kineh N’Gaojia wrote on Facebook.
“This is stuff you see [in] movies but it has become our life. I can’t believe you are gone … how y’all gonna kill her on her Son birthday at his gravesite???” Kineh wrote.
The ex-husband told KWTX that Yolanda was visiting the grave of her son Amir on what would have been his 22nd birthday. Amir died on New Year’s Day, according to his obituary. He was one of three children Yolanda and Kineh had together.
“My children will never be the same again,” Kineh wrote in another Facebook post. “Those bullets took a precious gem from us but gave us an Amazing Angel to guide us so you know we ain’t going nowhere but up cause we know how hard you rode for your family.”
Killeen police said the shooting, which they called “an isolated incident,” is being investigated as a murder.
The investigation into Yolanda’s death remains ongoing, and the Killeen Police Department is asking anyone with information about the incident to contact Crime Stoppers at 254-526-TIPS (8477).
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