Suspects sought after student killed in road rage shooting
Police in Denton, Texas are searching for a group of suspects in a deadly case of road rage. One of the men riding in an SUV shot and killed a college student in another vehicle.
The victim was driving friends home from a New Year's Eve party. Friends say Sara Mutschlechner had acted responsibly and was not drinking because she was the designated driver. But police believe she may have crossed paths with the suspects earlier that night, reports CBS News correspondent Don Dahler.
Mutschlechner, a junior at the University of North Texas, was shot in the head around 2 a.m. Friday. The car she was driving hit another vehicle before crashing into a utility pole.
According to witnesses, the 20-year-old and her three passengers came under fire after a verbal altercation with people in a dark colored Toyota or Lexus SUV that fled the scene.
"It's our understanding that the occupants of the SUV were all African American males, five to six males," said Denton police officer Shane Kizer.
"I want justice for her," said Victoria Maxwell, a friend of Mutschlechner. "I want someone to do right for her."
Police believe the shooting may be connected to the New Year's Eve party Mutschlechner and her friends attended.
"It's my understanding that they saw them, at least two occupants of the suspects' vehicle at the party earlier, but it's my understanding also that they did not know each other," Kizer said.
Mutschlechner was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority. She was taking film courses at the university, writing on her Linkedin page that she hoped to make movies.
Hundreds attended a candlelight vigil Saturday, a day after she was taken off life support. Her mother said she was an organ donor.
"She was always giving. She was always living out," said her mother, Gloria Mutschlechner. "Someone's going to live on in Sarah."
"She lived with joy and laughed with grace and didn't care what other people thought," said Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority President Jordan Roberts. "She was happy, and we should all be a little more like that."
Police have not made any arrests or released the names of suspects, but they are asking anyone who was at the New Year's Eve party - and took pictures or videos - to contact them.