UPDATE: Austin police have made an arrest in this case.
ORIGINAL STORY: A 30-year-old woman was shot and killed in the parking lot of a Central East Austin apartment complex Tuesday night.
Austin police said they were called to the Travis Station Apartments, near U.S. 183/Ed Bluestein Boulevard and Loyola Lane, for a reported shooting around 11:45 p.m. Dec. 26.
Austin-Travis County EMS said they found a woman, identified by police as Ebony Michelle Sheppard, with obvious trauma to her body. Medics took her to Dell Seton Medical Center where she was pronounced deceased around 12:30 a.m. Dec. 27, police said.
"She was just ... my baby," said Janet Harris, Sheppard's mother.
Harris was surrounded by family and friends in Austin Wednesday afternoon, sharing stories and memories of Sheppard.
"(I remember) how funny she was. She was a really good person. She didn't have not one enemy that I knew of," said Harris.
"She had the most wonderful smile. Just a huge smile that just brightened everybody up. And she was just a wonderful soul inside and out. And she was an amazing artist and spectacular mother, and you just couldn't say anything bad about her," said Patrick Walz, the father of Sheppard's 4-year old son, Ian.
Sheppard was with family at her uncle's home Tuesday night when she offered to go downstairs to move the car closer to the door as they were preparing to leave.
"We heard the gunshot, we ran around looking for her and finally saw her lying at the back of the car," Harris explained.
Many family members pointed to Ian as the means to keep Sheppard's legacy alive.
"She was a wonderful mother. And she loved him, that's all. It was about him. When she had him, it was all about her son," said Cristina Billela, a friend.
"I can't stress enough how good of a person she was. One of the sweetest people I've ever met in my life. And I hope that he knows that," added December Lane, who first met Sheppard in second grade.
Sheppard's family set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for her burial and provide monetary support for her 4-year-old son. You can go here to donate.
A talented artist, Sheppard had an affinity of horror films -- a pastime she shared with Walz and their son.
"We would always scare each other. We would always do fun things together," said Tiana Harris, Sheppard's sister.
"She took her love of horror films and science fiction and fantasy and she turned it into her art, and she was incredible," said Walz.
Her family plans to keep her Facebook page, where Sheppard posted her art, active.
"She was no nonsense when it came to her work, her baby, her art. But when she had fun, she made sure everybody had fun. She was just beautiful inside and out," said Andrea Brown, Sheppard's aunt.
In light of the tragedy, family and friends said they wanted the opportunity to spread Sheppard's story.
"Maybe some criminal will see this and think twice about you can ruin someone's life," Brown said.
The Travis County Medical Examiner's Office ruled Sheppard's death a homicide after performing an autopsy.
Witnesses told police at the scene of the shooting that a possible suspect was seen speeding away in a white sedan while wearing a dark-colored hoodie. A witness alerted police to another possible suspect, who police detained and later released as they said they believed he was not involved in the incident.
Detectives are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to call the Homicide Tip Line at 512-477-3588 or Crime Stoppers at 512-472-TIPS, text "Tip 103" and your message to CRIMES or use the new Crime Stoppers App.