HOUSTON – For one Houston mother, it’s been nearly two years since her daughter was ripped away from her.
Disha Allen was murdered on Dec. 12, 2021 while attending a candlelight vigil in Baytown. Investigators said someone inside a vehicle drove by, firing more than 20 shots into the crowd of people, striking and killing Allen.
“She was 25 years old,” said Allen’s mother, LeAnna Goudeau. “I understand how a parent could not come back.”
Allen leaves behind a daughter, Kennedy, who has cerebral palsy and requires around-the-clock care. Goudeau has moved into Allen’s home to take care of her granddaughter.
“Kennedy gets me by every day. Becoming a grandmother changed my world,” Goudeau said.
Now, nearly two years without answers, Allen’s case remains unsolved. There is a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to an arrest in her case.
Goudeau is one of thousands of Texans impacted by gun violence.
“Houston has one of the … unfortunately, leading the country in youth gun violence. And it’s increased in recent years,” said psychologist Jeff Temple, founding director of the Center For Violence Prevention at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.
Temple and a team of researchers at UTMB received a $2 million grant to study ways to reduce gun violence. He said this is something that had not been previously studied due to little funding.
“I want to live in a safer society where gun violence, injuries and deaths are eliminated. But, if not eliminated, reduced substantially. I think the only way we can do that is by understanding the risk and protective factors of dangerous firearm carriage and use,” Temple said.
Temple added that the money will expand prior research that included 1,000 people throughout the past 15 years.
“So, we’ll combine what we know about folks from these quantitative surveys, and that is: Have you ever been threatened with a gun? Has a partner ever threatened you with a gun? Have you? Do you carry a weapon? Why do you carry a weapon? How did you get your weapon? Tell us more about that so that we can get a better understanding,” Temple said.
Temple hopes the answers received will provide a more in-depth perspective, which does not have political boundaries.
“All sides want people to be safe and don’t want children or our wives to be killed. No one wants that ... I don’t care what side of the political aisle you are on. So, if we can get information that prevents that, that reduces that, then that’s a win for everyone,” Temple explained.
The information compiled from this survey will establish prevention programs and gun safety programs, along with collecting gun violence information from arrest records and data from schools and communities.