Tx. Teacher Allegedly Shot Son Dead While Driving Him to School, Told Strangers 'This Is Not Real'
Waco Police
A Texas teacher is accused of shooting her teenage son to death in her minivan as she drove him to school Monday morning.
Elementary school teacher Sarah Elizabeth Hunt, 39, is charged with murder in connection with the death of Garrett Hunt, 17, McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara said during a press conference Monday.
Garrett had been picked up by his mother from his father's home earlier that morning, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by KWTX. A motive for the shooting remains unknown.
“At this point, we don’t have a motive. We don’t know what happened. We don’t know what led up to this," McNamara said. "It’s a big mystery, and that’s what we’re trying to determine. What caused this? We just don't know at this point.”
The teen's body was found after a passerby saw Hunt's white minivan parked on the side of the road shortly before 8 a.m. and called Riesel police.
When officers responded to the scene, they found the minivan running with its doors closed and windows rolled up, according to the affidavit. Inside they found Garrett dead of multiple gunshot wounds. They also found multiple .40 caliber cartridge cases on the driver’s side floor and a .40 caliber pistol and a spare magazine. No one else was inside the minivan.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
After the shooting, Hunt allegedly walked into Riesel, McNamara said.
Once there, Hunt allegedly found two people and told them her son needed help and was "with her mother in heaven," according to the affidavit.
“What have I done…this is not real,” she allegedly told the two people, the affidavit states.
Later, when questioned by police about what happened, Hunt "would respond by sobbing, saying ‘I didn’t mean to, I didn’t mean to,'" the affidavit alleges.
According to McNamara, Garrett was a student at Riesel High School. Since news of his death, members of the community have come together to help his grieving family.
"Garrett was a well rounded young man. Very respectful and a hard worker. Those that knew him are very saddened at his sudden loss," states a Facebook post by the restaurant The Tipsy Lion Bar & Grill, which set up a donation bucket for funeral expenses. "Any bit helps."
Hunt is a first-year teacher at Lake Air Montessori Magnet School, where she taught fifth grade social studies and science, KWTX reports. She had previously worked for the Andrews Independent School District.
Jail records show she is behind bars in McLennan County Jail on a $500,000 bond, according to jail records. Attorney information was not available Wednesday.
