‘I love you, I’ve been shot’: Aurora shooting victim sends heartbreaking last text to wife before dying

The wife of one of five employees shot and killed Friday at an Illinois industrial warehouse revealed the final text he sent her before succumbing to his injuries.

USA Today reported that Josh Pinkard, 37, was a plant manager at the Henry Pratt Co., where he and four of his co-workers were killed by a 15-year employee who was being fired when he started shooting. The plant manager’s widow, Terra Pinkard, took to Facebook Sunday morning to mourn her husband’s untimely death, sharing that he text her “I love you, I’ve been shot at work” in the moments leading up to his death.

“The man who was dying and found the clarity of mind for just a second to send me one last text to let me know he would always love me,” she wrote.

With kids in tow, Terra recalled driving to the plant and two local hospitals in a frenzy before an officer directed her to a “staging area” for victims’ families. It was there she learned that Josh was among the five fatalities, recounting hearing his name and rushing to her children to tell them their father was gone.

Terra wrote of her late husband, “Every thought in my mind and everything I see reminds me of a precious memory of my husband. I’ve been asked so many times by the media to talk about him. I’m crying now as I write this.”

The four other victims were identified as Clayton Parks, 32, Russell Beyer, 47, Vicente Juarez, 54, and Trevor Wehner, 21. The suspected shooter, Gary Martin, reportedly wounded six others, including police officers, before he was fatally shot at the scene.

Terra went on to thank everyone for the outpouring of love and support in recent days. She asked for the public to pray for her mother-in-law and children as they cope with Josh’s death.

“They are struggling because they miss a daddy who loved them so much,” she wrote of her children. “Please pray that somehow I can put that one foot in front of the other. And again thank you for all the kindness you have shown to us.”

You guys. I can’t even begin to start saying thank you for the love that has been poured out on us. Friday afternoon,…

Posted by Terra Pinkard on Sunday, February 17, 2019

 

[Featured image: Terra Pinkard, Josh Pinkard/Facebook]