By Hanna Park, Holly Yan, CNN
(CNN) — One was on the brink of earning dual degrees and starting a prestigious job. Another was a mixed martial arts fighter whose grit was matched by his humor and charm. Another was a teenager with a bright future ahead.
Their lives intersected at the end when they were killed in a mass shooting in Austin’s bustling Sixth Street entertainment district.
“These were young people with their whole lives ahead of them,” said Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden, near the site of the shootings.
Another 13 people were injured in the attack early Sunday morning, including several University of Texas at Austin students, the school’s president said.
While the motive remains uncertain, investigators are digging into whether the suspect, 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, was spurred by recent US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
The anguish quickly spread across the country, as loved ones from Texas to Minnesota grieve the loss of three promising young lives. Here’s what we know about the victims:
A little brother ‘robbed of a great future’
Ryder Harrington was a vivacious 19-year-old who made every day brighter for those around him, family and friends said.
His sister, Reagan Harrington, paid tribute to her “best friend” on Instagram.
“We understood each other in a way that no one else quite could, and everyone who knew us knew that we were partners in crime in everything,” she wrote. “I’m not sure how we’re meant to work through this — all I can think about is seeing you again.”
Ryder’s brother Reed Harrington said, it was unfair “that my little brother was only given 19 years on this earth.”
“Watching the man he had become, and seeing all the lives he touched, leaves me certain that this world was robbed of a great future,” Reed posted on Facebook.
In an open letter to his slain brother, Reed thanked Ryder for “being the best brother I could ever ask for.”
“I love you more than you will ever know,” he wrote. “No matter how old you get, or how much taller than me you are, you will always be my little brother.”
Ryder Harrington was a student at Texas Tech University last fall, the school said, in a statement shared with CNN affiliate KCBD. He was a member of the Beta Theta Pi at Texas Tech, the chapter said.
Harrington “had a rare ability to truly enjoy life to make people laugh, to make moments feel bigger, and to make ordinary days unforgettable,” the fraternity posted on Instagram.
“He made the world around him better simply by being in it.”
A ‘superstar student’ with exciting plans ahead
Savitha Shan was just two months away from graduating from UT Austin and already had a distinguished job lined up, according to her LinkedIn profile and a professor.
Shan, 21, was “one of our sup