Photo courtesy of Kineh N'Gaojia/Facebook
A Texas mother was shot and killed while visiting her late son’s grave on his birthday, police and her ex-husband said.
Yolanda N’Gaojia, 52, was fatally shot on Tuesday around 5 p.m. at the Calvary Baptist Church Garden of Memories Cemetery in Killeen, Texas, a news release from the Killeen Police Department stated.
Authorities said that a second victim suffered non-threatening injuries and was treated and released at the scene. The person’s identity was not made public.
Yolanda’s ex-husband, Kineh N’Gaojia, spoke with KWTX and said that she was visiting the grave of their son, Amir, on what would have been his 22nd birthday.
According to an online obituary, Amir died on New Year’s Day earlier this year. The news outlet reported that he was one of three children the divorced couple shared.
“I have no words because I can’t believe this is real,” Kineh wrote in a post shared on Facebook. “This is stuff you see [in] movies, but it has become our life.”
“I can’t believe you are gone, Yolanda N’Gaojia,” he continued. “How y’all gonna kill her on her Son birthday at his gravesite???”
In a follow-up post, the grieving father shared a photo of Yolanda and Amir, writing, “My children will never be the same again.”
He added an additional 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. Thank you for making our lives complete. We gonna miss you, Soldier. WE LOVE YOU.”
An autopsy was scheduled at the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences in Dallas to determine the exact cause of Yolanda’s death.
Police said there is an ongoing investigation into her death. The department asks anyone who may have seen anything or has information about this murder to contact Crime Stoppers at 254-526-TIPS (8477).