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Sahmya Garcia, 20, was shot ten times outside a SEPTA station in Philadelphia early on Tuesday, Nov. 8, as multiple outlets have reported.
Her ex-boyfriend, 41-year-old Marcus Burney, was arrested at the scene after being shot in the leg by police, many sources report. He is charged with murder and awaiting a preliminary hearing on Nov. 29, state court records show.
Just hours before her murder on Tuesday, Garcia had filed a protection-from-abuse order against Burney in a city court, reports indicate.
Now, her loved ones are rallying the community for support to assist the family she leaves behind with a GoFundMe campaign.
"At the young age of 20, while on her way to work, Sahmya's life was taken at the hands of domestic abuse," wrote campaign organizer Tammy Pacheco. "We are suffering from this; however, her father wants to ensure this doesn't happen to someone else's daughter."
As of Tuesday, Nov. 15, the page has raised over $1,000.
Organizers say they'll remember Garcia for her "happy, adventurous, assertive," and "easy-going" personality.
"She was a cancer survivor and a fighter, and she made friends anywhere she went," Pacheco wrote. "We will miss her smile; we will miss everything she represented."
Meanwhile, Philadelphia police officer and artist Jonny Castro painted Garcia's portrait in her honor. In an Instagram post, Castro said he was asked to paint the picture by south Philly officers, who worked with Garcia often in her position as a security specialist at Target.
Elsewhere online, others offered digital condolences.
"My dear beautiful friend was a victim of domestic violence," wrote one friend on Facebook. "Although she spoke up it cost her her life [...] I will never understand why she was taken so soon from everyone who loves her."
According to loved ones, Garcia was a 2020 graduate of Paulsboro High School in Paulsboro, New Jersey. She had been employed at Target since February, her LinkedIn profile shows.
"Sahmya was someone's daughter, a strong young lady, and represented what a young woman should be," Pacheco concluded the GoFundMe.
"She made her parents so proud. She did not deserve what happened to her."
Click here to support the GoFundMe campaign.
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