Juneteenth shooting victim Lyndsey Vicknair was a 'light' who had 'love for young people'

More than 100 adults, teenagers and children lined up along a middle school's track on Thursday evening holding candles lit in honor of Lyndsey Vicknair.

Vicknair, a 33-year-old lawyer and mother of three children, was one of two innocent bystanders killed in a shooting at a Juneteenth celebration Saturday in Round Rock. She was named a Texas Super Lawyer “Rising Star” in construction litigation in 2023 by Super Lawyers magazine, according to the website of the Chapman law firm where she worked.

The other woman killed at the shooting was Ara Duke, a 54-year-old educational administrator who had planned to visit London to help with her daughter's pregnancy, a relative has said.

The shooting was an altercation between two groups of people, according to police. Police arrested 17-year-old Ricky Thompson III of Manor on Thursday in connection with the shooting, said Round Rock Police Chief Allen Banks. Thompson is currently charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was not the only shooter in the incident, and police are still looking for other suspects, Banks said.

More: 17-year-old arrested in fatal shooting at Round Rock Juneteenth festival, police say

Vicknair and her husband, Kevin Vicknair, were members of the Austin Honey Badgers Track Club, a nonprofit for young runners, said Candice Cooper, one of the group's co-founders. The club held the vigil Thursday for Lyndsey Vicknair on the track at Webb Middle School.

The Vicknairs' 7-year-old daughter ran in track meets for the club, Cooper said. Lyndsey Vicknair was always at practices and competitions offering assistance, she said. The Vicknairs' other children are 4 and 1, other friends said.

"She was a light," Cooper said. "She was a helper, and she had a love for young people."

Vicknair and her husband joined the club two years ago when they moved to Central Texas from Mansfield, near Dallas, Cooper said.

"A lot of the track moms embraced Lyndsey when she came," Cooper said. "From combing hair to cookouts and babysitting to birthday celebrations, she's been a part of our life for two years."

More: Police: Round Rock Juneteenth shooting victims identified as Pflugerville, Manor residents

She said several of the club's members were at the Juneteenth celebration when the shooting happened, including one parent who was selling barbecue and saw Lyndsey Vicknair buy nachos before she was shot.

She was at the Juneteenth celebration at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock because she was on a date night with her husband, a few of Vicknair's friends said at the vigil.

"She was very kind-hearted, very caring and very soft-spoken," Adrienne Williams said. "She left behind such a beautiful, young family."

She wanted her children to be bilingual, so they were all learning Spanish, said Kalee Perkins, another of Lyndsey Vicknair's friends. The children were also vegetarian because she wanted them to avoid the high blood pressure that she had when they were born, Perkins said.

Perkins said she talked to Lyndsey Vicknair at a barbecue a few weeks ago about arranging playdates with their kids this summer. When she found out that Lyndsey had been killed, Perkins said, she started shaking.

"I was in disbelief," Perkins said.

Lauren Varner said her 4-year-old son was on a T-ball team with Lyndsey Vicknair's 4-year-old son. She remembered Lyndsey Vicknair as pleasant and sweet.

"Her presence made you feel at ease," Varner said.

Lyndsey Vicknair knew that Cooper had track equipment scattered around her house and always complained about it, Cooper said. For her birthday this year, Cooper said, Lyndsey Vicknair gave her a candle with the words "It smells the opposite of track equipment," on it, Cooper said, smiling. She said she has lit the candle every day since Vicknair died.

Cooper said the track club has started a GoFundMe page for the Vicknair family.

"My message from this tragedy is to try to find a way to triumph," said Cooper. "Allow this to be a reminder to us to say that life is short and we must appreciate it. You never know when you are going to see somebody next. You may not see them again."

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Round Rock Juneteenth shooting victim was 'a light' for young people