Ayden Rose Burt

Ayden Rose Burt was a 28-year-old English teacher and coach from Jasper, Texas, where her family had deep roots in the local school district. A White female, she had taught at both Jasper High School and Jasper Junior High since 2019, coaching volleyball, track, and cheer. Her superintendent described her as a "wonderful teacher and person" who "loved her kids." In July 2024, Burt traveled to San Antonio with other staff from her district to attend the Texas High School Coaches Association conference.

In the early morning hours of July 23, 2024, Burt was with fellow educators at an event at Smoke Skybar on East Crockett Street. Just after midnight, she was sitting on a lounge chair on the bar’s second-floor outdoor patio, with her back to Interstate 37. Witnesses reported hearing a single loud bang, but there had been no disturbance or confrontation at the bar. Moments later, friends saw Burt slump over in her chair and realized she had been shot.

Bystanders and security personnel rushed to provide aid, but the injury was critical. Burt was transported to Brooke Army Medical Center, where she died from a single gunshot wound to her upper back. San Antonio Police who responded to the scene found no shell casings or other evidence at the bar, leading investigators to believe the fatal shot was a stray bullet fired from the nearby highway or its service road.

A homicide investigation was launched, but police struggled to find leads. Police Chief William McManus noted the difficulty of solving the case without witnesses from the highway. In August 2024, police released an image of a vehicle they believed was involved in the shooting, but this did not lead to a breakthrough.

As of July 2026, two years after Ayden Burt’s death, her killing remains a mystery. No arrests have ever been made, and no suspects have been publicly identified. The San Antonio Police Department’s investigation is ongoing but has gone quiet. Crime Stoppers is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in the case.