A woman is mourning the loss of her fiancée Rosa Machuca, who was killed in a random shooting at the Target where she worked.
AUSTIN, Texas — From a young age, Kim Dang knew who she wanted to be with, having met Rosa Machuca in middle school.
The two then began dating in high school.
“She’s like my sunshine, she’s always very bright,” Dang said. “She’s always very positive about things. I feel like I’m the polar opposite of her.”
The two were together for 11 years, with Dang seeing Machuca go through a lot of changes. After graduating high school in 2019, Machuca dropped out of UT Austin, with Dang saying she needed to financially support her family.
Machuca then began working at Target. Over the last few years, Machuca then began her gender transition.
“[She was] able to feel comfortable calling herself as Rosa, identify as her,” Dang said. “So I definitely was really proud of her to be able to be brave enough to be comfortable for who she is.”
Dang believes Machuca had three goals.
“Hopefully pursue journalism, get married and also get to be known as Rosa,” Dang said.
While Dang says the two became engaged last November, those dreams have now been stripped away. Machuca was one of three people killed in a shooting at Target on Research Boulevard, where she worked.
Austin police say 32-year-old Ethan Nieneker randomly attacked Machuca in the parking lot, shooting her as she collected shopping carts. Machuca later died in the hospital.
Police say Nieneker also killed 65-year-old Adam Chow and his 4-year-old granddaughter Astrid.
“I bawled my eyes out, because I was such in disbelief that it happened and I felt helpless,” Dang said. “The most tragic way to end not only our story, but also end her story.”
Now, Dang carries their unfinished hopes. She wears a ring around her neck which she bought with Machuca at a jewelry store. Dang says Machuca has her own ring.
“I didn’t care whatever ring she put on my finger, I wanted us to be together for a very long time,” Dang said.
While the ring now carries a different meaning, Dang still holds it close to heart.
“It’s really something that I love to have on me, to remember her,” Dang said.