Friends remembered a woman killed in a shooting rampage on Saturday as someone with an infectious and joyous spirit.
Amber Tsai, 32, was killed in her Haltom City home on Saturday when police say 28-year-old Edward Freyman fired hundreds of rounds from a rifle.
The shooting spree also killed 33-year-old Collin Davis on the driveway of the home in the 5700 block of Diamond Oaks Drive and injured a woman in her 60s who lived in a home across the street.
Haltom City Police say that the victim managed to call 911 after being shot to warn dispatchers about what officers were facing when they arrived.
Video captured from a Ring camera next door showed three officers get ambushed by the gunman as they approached Davis on the driveway who was shot near his motorcycle.
Corporal Zach Tabler and officers Tim Barton and Jose Avila were all injured. Barton has been treated and released while Tabler and Avila remain in the hospital as of late Sunday.
Police say the gunman then took off on foot through the backyard. Another Ring camera captured Freyman walking on Golden Oaks Drive holding a rifle with a handgun holstered on his side. Investigators say he took his life in the front yard of another home moments later.
Neighbors on Monday handed out blue ribbons that quickly went up on tree trunks along the quiet street of tree-lined ranch-style homes on large lots in the community of just under 60,000 residents east of Fort Worth.
One neighbor, who only provided his first name, Austin, lives directly across the street from Tsai described his neighbor as a “sweet young person”.
“We had a little bit of interaction with Amber over the last couple of months,” he said.
Haltom City Police Chief Cody Phillips on Sunday said all three knew each other but did not disclose the nature of the relationship.
Friends took to social media to remember Tsai on Monday, sharing reflections on both Facebook and a GoFundMe page.
“I can’t find the words you deserve. I can say I love you and how deeply I will miss you,” Amanda Cree posted on Facebook. “You will always be an infectiously joyous spirit. Your charisma, extroversion, spunk and eagerness to make everyone around you feel safe, welcomed and included.”
A growing, neighbor-led memorial outside her home helped honor Amber Tsai and Collin Davis as well as three injured officers. Neighbors say her sudden absence is felt deeply, a feeling that will not subside soon.
“I know we’re safe now but it’s just a real eerie raw feeling that I don’t wish upon anybody,” Austin said.
