Sixth Street shooting victim's family reacts to charges being dropped
AUSTIN, Texas - The family of a Sixth Street shooting victim is speaking out after Austin Police say they are still looking for the suspect who shot their loved one and 13 others.
"She's recovering well for sure. As of right now she is just practicing walking again," said Adrian Salazar.
Adrian says he is very proud of how his sister, Adrianna Salazar, is recovering after being one of the 14 victims shot on East Sixth Street a little over a week ago.
"A bullet went through her, I believe, right leg. It went through that leg and got stuck in her left. When it went through the right, it shattered her bone. She now has a rod in her right leg which she will have for the rest of her life," he said.
Adrian says he was with Adrianna the night she was shot celebrating her 19th birthday. He says he can remember what happened like it was yesterday.
"She went to an 18+ club so she wasn't drinking, and I was at a bar," said Adrian.
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He says at the end of the night, he texted his sister to meet up to go home. It was a little after that text when he saw everyone outside ducking. "I was with my friends and they're like, oh, there's a shooter and literally five seconds later, my sister texted me saying, I'm on the ground. I got shot."
Since that night, Adrianna has been at the hospital re-learning how to walk.
On Tuesday, charges against a 14-year-old and 17-year-old arrested for the shootings were dropped. The two were also released. Adrian says he does not agree with letting them go free.
"When I was that age, even if I never did anything to that extent, I know that when I didn't even get the consequences for something that I did, I was gonna do it again. That's just common sense," said Adrian.
Police are now looking for 19-year-old De’ondre White. Adrian hopes they find him and punish him for what he did to not only his sister but all the victims.
After the shooting, White allegedly changed his appearance by cutting and dying his hair. White was interviewed by APD detectives and then returned to Killeen where he went into hiding.
"Y'all shot 14 other people that were just there on Sixth Street celebrating, most of them were celebrating birthdays, most of them were not even there to cause any harm and now one victim is dead and another's paralyzed. If you're old enough to do that, I believe you're old enough to do the time," said Adrian.
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Adrianna is at home recovering. Unfortunately, she does not have insurance and will have to pay for her medical bills out of pocket. A GoFundMe has been created to help her pay for those bills.