Austin James Sampson was 25 when he died on January 4, 2013, at Scott & White Hospital in Temple, Texas, from injuries sustained in a gunshot wound two days earlier on January 2. The shooting happened in a parking lot in Central Texas while he was stationed at Fort Hood; the motive has not been established. Sampson was born September 12, 1987, in Fort Worth and was the son of Wesley and Pamela Sampson of Bliss, New York. He served as a U.S. Army Specialist and deployed in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn.

Killeen police were investigating to determine the circumstances and identify any suspects; no arrests had been reported. His family and community remember him as a dedicated soldier and a beloved son. If anyone has information about the January 2, 2013 parking-lot shooting, please come forward.