[23308] in APO-L
[APO-L] Tragic APO news
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Kim Francis)
Wed Dec 18 10:31:53 2002
Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2002 10:31:46 -0500
Reply-To: Kim Francis <kfrancis@SOUTHERNCO.COM>
From: Kim Francis <kfrancis@SOUTHERNCO.COM>
To: APO-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
This info is taken from a note that was sent out to Alpha Rho alumni from
an alum and the immediate past President, Eugene Edwards. You can send
notes of condolence to him via jeugene@mail.utexas.edu
(Christopher) Ryan Briones died in the hospital from complications
due to a gun shot wound, on December 17, 2002. Those of you in Austin may
have seen or heard the story on the news, as I know that KVUE had a piece
on it in their Crime Stoppers section. The details are still sketchy, but
he was watching movies at some friends' apartment, and then went walking
back to his apartment in Crossing Place. He heard someone crying for help
and he went to see if he could do anything, whereupon he was shot in the
stomach. He was able to call the apartment he left, and they called
911. He was taken to the ICU and passed away some 5 hours later.
Ryan was elected President of the chapter last month and was very
excited about it - he already had many plans for his office and the
chapter and had had several conversations to involve advisors and alumni
in chapter business. He was the consummate brother, always there to serve
and always with a happy, friendly demeanor. He was the Old Man for the
Dacy Pledge Class, a former SVP, and well on his way to high APO honors.
He pledged Barkhurst semester, which was Fall 2000, so he accomplished a
lot in his 2 years in Alpha Rho.
As I mentioned before, there is an investigation underway. No one
seems to know what happened to the shooter or to the person who called for
help, or even many details about either entity. There was an impromptu
gathering tonight and the chapter really came together for each
other. It's times like these that we see what it truly means to be a
brother in APO. Below is a message from this fall semester's president,
Eugene Edwards.
In brotherhood,
Erica
I regret having to inform some of you in this fashion. My hope was that
most of you would get phone calls from friends, bigs, littles, etc., but I
think the time has come to make everyone aware of the situation.
Yesterday morning (Tuesday) a dear brother of ours, Ryan Briones, was shot
and fatally wounded. There are no words to describe how painful this will
be for everyone. I'm sure we all know how dear he was to us, and how much
of a true brother and friend he was to everyone that knew him. There is
no word of funeral services at the moment, but I am going to setup a
grieving time for all of us to meet and be together. There will be
counselors there to help you with your grief, and I think it would be wise
for us to use them to help us through this very difficult time.
Ryan's family has asked that we put together a memorial service in his
honor. Since most of you have left for the break we will be holding off
to have the large service until January, though we might have a smaller
memorial service here in Austin before Christmas.
I know that this will be difficult for all of us, and I hope that each of
you rely on your brothers within the chapter for strength and
encouragement.
We all loved Ryan very much and he will undoubtedly be missed.
Yours in brotherhood,
Eugene Edwards
God, lay Ryan's soul to rest so that he can be happy in Your Kingdom.
