Teacher sitting on bar patio is shot and killed by a stray bullet, Texas reports say

A teacher visiting San Antonio for a conference was shot in the back while at a bar, reports say.

Ayden Rose Burt, a 28-year-old teacher and coach at Jasper High School, died following the shooting just after midnight on Tuesday, July 23, at Smoke Skybar, according to MySanAntonio.com. Jasper is in eastern Texas about 330 miles northeast from San Antonio.

Officers believe someone fired a shot from the vicinity of Interstate 37, and the bullet struck Burt as she was seated at the bar’s patio, according to KBMT. She died after being taken to a hospital, police told the station.

There were no known suspects in the shooting as of Tuesday afternoon, KENS reported.

She was in San Antonio for the Texas High School Coaches Association coaching convention, according to multiple reports.

Burt taught English within the Jasper Independent School District since 2019, district superintendent John Seybold said in a statement shared on Facebook. She also coached track and volleyball, KABB reported.

In June, Burt announced she would be leaving Jasper Junior High School for a similar position at Jasper High School.

“I’m not only excited for this opportunity to teach many of my former students again, but also to teach the class that made me fall in love with literature in the first place,” she said while making her announcement.

Burt was considered “a jewel” to the school district, one former coworker said. A parent of one of Burt’s former students referred to her as “one of the good ones.”

“She was a mentor to many, and such a fun person to be around,” Ella Powell said in a Facebook post. “She was the best track coach too.”

This story was originally published July 23, 2024 at 3:32 PM with the headline "Teacher sitting on bar patio is shot and killed by a stray bullet, Texas reports say."