CARRIZO SPRINGS, Texas – The Carrizo Springs community is rallying behind the family of Alicia Sanchez.
Sanchez was one of the victims who was shot at the Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino in Eagle Pass late Saturday night.
She was later pronounced dead at an Eagle Pass hospital.
Family and friends are coming together as they prepare to say goodbye to the young mother. Loved ones are sharing memories and remembering the beautiful life Sanchez led.
Sanchez’s sister, Angeleigha, said her older sister was an open book.
“She told you what was on her mind, whether it was good or bad, or funny or sad,” Sanchez said.
She said Alicia had a big heart. Sanchez is proud to know the community her sister was a part of loved and thought well of her.
It is a sentiment shared by Julia Torres, Alicia’s longtime childhood friend.
“She was a good person,” Torres said. “She gave her shirt off her back, if she had to. She was kind-hearted. Great soul. Great mother — above and beyond forever.”
Besides her generous heart, family and friends said Alicia loved, adored and was devoted to her children.
Alicia was on her way home from what was supposed to be a fun Saturday night away at the casino. Law enforcement officials said Keryan Jones, 34, allegedly opened fire near an entrance at the casino. Sanchez and another man were killed. Five others were injured.
“How could he do something like this, not caring that what he ... took?” Sanchez said of the accused shooter. “The mother of five children away, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a cousin, a tia, a niece. I mean, she was a person.”
“She would never leave her babies,” Yvonne Cisneros, a relative of Alicia, told KSAT. “We just want justice.”
Now without their mother, the family said it is their mission to help fulfill Alicia’s hope for her children.
“That they grow up to be good people,” Sanchez said. “Good, happy (and) successful.”
Alicia’s father, Nino, said there will be two viewings: one beginning at 4 p.m. on Oct. 8 and another at 3 p.m. on Oct. 9.
Her funeral service is set for 10 a.m. on Oct. 10.
All the services will be held at Leonard Funeral Home in Carrizo Springs.
More coverage of Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino shooting on KSAT: