Co-worker: Autum Garrett, killed in Colerain Township shooting, lived for her family

Cincinnati Enquirer

Autum Garrett, 22, of Andrews, Indiana, was slain during a mass shooting at a Colerain Township home on July 8, 2017.

The last thing Autum Garrett's boss said to her as she packed up to head to Cincinnati to attend a weekend wedding was to be safe and he would see her at work Monday.

Neither happened.

Garrett, 22, of Andrews, Indiana was shot multiple times in a mass shooting at the Colerain Township home of her cousin late Saturday night. Garrett was gunned down just feet from her husband, Bryan, and their two young children. In addition to the Garretts, five other people - including another child - were wounded. Police said the ages of the injured children were 8, 6, 2.

Authorities, who announced a $10,000 anonymous reward for information Wednesday, continued to ask the public for tips to help them piece together a motive and determine suspects.

Crime scene tape is still tied to a fence at a Colerain that was the scene of a shooting the night before that left nine shot, one fatal. Three of those injured were children. At the time of the shooting, the group, mostly related, were watching a Spider Man movie, when two gunmen went into the home and began shooting, according to eye witnesses.

"We are devastated. We are beyond devastated. We just can't believe this happened," said David Moyer, Garrett's supervisor at M & S Industrial Metal Fabricators,Inc. in Huntington, Indiana. "All she ever talked about was her family. Her husband and her two little ones."

Bryan Garrett was shot in the eye and remained hospitalized at University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he was expected to undergo additional surgery for his injuries, Moyer said. It remained unclear if their two children were still hospitalized at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center with the third child who was shot.

The family established a GoFundMe page to help with the medical bills, he said. It has raised nearly $3,000 of the $5,000 goal.

More:Joe Deters: Colerain Township mass shooting could be a capital murder case

"Going after adults is one thing, but going after kids? It takes a real evil person to go after kids,'' said Moyer who said he was asked to speak on behalf of her family.

Two gunmen, both armed with handguns walked into the living room of the house in the 9900 block of Capstan Drive at 11:21 p.m. and opened fire, police have said. Authorities do not have a clear description of the men. Callers to 911 only said they were both wearing hoodie sweatshirts and left the modest, single-story home on foot.

It remained unclear if the house or any of its occupants were targeted. Earlier Saturday, friends and family had gathered at the home to celebrate the pregnancy of the homeowner and that she was going to give birth to a baby boy. About a dozen stayed behind, many with their children, to watch a Spider-man movie.

They had just turned out the lights and started watching the movie when the shooting broke out. The pregnant woman lost the fetus after the shooting, a family member said.

Garrett and the homeowner were cousins, Moyer said.

"She had one of those electric smiles, y'know? The kind of smile everyone looked forward to. That's the way she was here and that's the way she was everywhere,'' Moyer said.

Moyer, who had talked with Bryan Garrett on Thursday about working at the factory as well, said most of the company plans to attend her memorial and funeral services. But he's not sure when that will be.

"I think they are waiting on Bryan,'' he said, adding that he doesn't believe their children know of their mom's death as of yet. "I think they are waiting for him to tell them in his own way.

Until then, her co-workers put up a small memorial near the area she worked.

"You will always be loved,'' the poster says with a picture of her wide smile. "But never forgotten."

Anyone with information is asked to call Colerain Police: 513-321-COPS (3677), Crime Stoppers at 513-352-3040 or text Colerain Police: 513-470-7165.