Sgt Jessica Mitchell US Army drill sergeant found shot dead on New Year’s Day along San Antonio highway. No arrests or suspects.
A black Army drill sergeant in Texas was found dead in her bullet-riddled car on New Year’s day after being shot multiple times according to Army officials.
Sgt Jessica Mitchell, 30, was found dead in her Dodge Challenger around 3am on Friday along Interstate 10 in San Antonio.
Authorities said they responded to the area after receiving reports of a car stranded in the fast lane.
Mitchell, who leaves behind a 10-year-old son, was a dental specialist assigned to the US Army Medical Center of Excellence on Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston.
She was assigned to the center in 2019 and previously served at the JBSA dental clinic.
On New Year’s Day around 2:30 a.m., first responders went to what they thought was a car crash on the North Side. Instead, a team of firefighters discovered a shooting victim. The family of U.S. Army Drill Sgt. Jessica Mitchell says it was their sweet young soldier shot & killed. pic.twitter.com/W8y9fpqdja
— Morgan Burrell (@Morgan_Burrell) January 2, 2021
At the time of the shooting, Mitchell was on holiday leave.
Maj Gen Dennis LeMaster of the Center of Excellence told the San Antonio Express-News in a statement: ‘We are devastated by the tragic loss of Drill Sergeant Jessica Mitchell.’
‘Our sincere condolences go out to her family and friends. We are focused on supporting Drill Sergeant Mitchell’s family as well as her soldiers during this extremely difficult time.’
Mitchell didn’t have a pulse when she was found and was pronounced dead at a local hospital a short time later.
Mitchell’s death marked the second time in three years that the family has been struck by tragedy.
On June 26, 2017, her brother, Justice, 18, was gunned down at a Church’s Chicken by Lamero Dunstan.
Dunstan pleaded guilty to multiple charges including intentional second degree murder and attempted aggravated robbery.
Had posted on social media just hours before shooting
Jessica’s father said his daughter was a fifth-generation member of the military.
Told Mitchell’s father, Mayo Mitchell via Fox 29: ‘I told all my children, I want you to do better than what I have done. She and my children have so far and she wanted to be the best that she can be in her military career. But that was cut short.’
Jessica’s father told WOAI his daughter was a fifth-generation member of the military.
‘She just became a drill sergeant and was just posted on her Facebook page not that long ago, how she had worked so hard for this,’ said Francesca Toby, Jessica’s childhood friend.
No arrests have been made in the case and authorities have not released any information about a possible suspect. It remained unclear if Mitchell had been singled out because or if she was the victim of a random shooting.
The Mitchell family is urging anyone with information to come forward.
‘We heard there was no witnesses,’ Mitchell’s sister, Ashley told via News 4 San Antonio, ‘But it’s a highway. Someone had to see something.’
According to Ashley, Jessica was actively posting on social media just hours before her murder.
Mitchell’s death is being investigated by the San Antonio Police Department and the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division.
