June 27, 2012
Possible Texas Hate Crime Shooting Leaves One Lesbian Teen Dead
Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Authorities in a small South Texas city are investigating a possible hate crime where two lesbian teens were shot together in a park, CBS's Texas affiliate station KZTV reported.
Police from Portland, Texas, found Mollie Judith Olgin, 19, and her girlfriend Mary Christine Chapa, 18, lying in a park. Olgin, a student at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, was pronounced dead at the scene and Chapa was rushed to the hospital for a single gunshot wound to the head.
As of Monday, Chapa has been listed in critical but stable condition.
Portland police Chief Rand Wright told local media that "this particular case does have some of the earmarks of a targeted attack," but he did not say if the women were attacked because they are gay.
"That's always something that we're looking for, but as of this point, we have not been able to establish that that had anything to do with the attack," he added.
He also told CNN that it has yet been confirmed if the teens were in a relationship, but friends say they had been dating for five months.
"At best, we know they were really good friends. Some of their friends have stated that they were in a relationship."
The women were most likely shot late Friday or early Saturday and officials told NBC's KRIS-TV that they probably "walked with their assailant down a trail into knee-deep grass, where they were shot with a large caliber handgun."
Corpus Christie Caller Times reported that a resident who lives close to the park "heard two loud bangs just before midnight Friday but thought they were firecrackers."
Samantha Garrett, Olgin's roommate, says that she has been trying to think of possible suspects or if anyone would want to hurt the teens but "not one person has ever come to mind."
According to KZTV, police found a bullet casing and witnesses said they saw a dark-colored car leaving the scene.
The incident has shocked many locals as the last murder in the coastal city occurred two years ago. Police currently have no suspects. According to Wikipedia, the city has never reported a hate crime.
