MALVERN — A funeral will be held in Texas next week for a Malvern football player who was killed there while visiting his family.
Landin Robinson, 16, and his 18-year-old cousin, Klayton Manning, were shot Tuesday evening on a country road, according to the Caldwell County Sheriff.
Authorities found Robinson and Manning, a volunteer firefighter, dead near a Polaris side-by-side utility vehicle.
Evidence from the scene indicated the teens were shot while on the fire department vehicle and while trying to flee, according to a court complaint filed by a detective.
On Thursday, investigators arrested Bryan Haynes, 34, of Austin, and charged him with capital murder.
The sheriff’s office said Haynes, the only suspect in the case, was being held in lieu of $500,000 bond.
According to the complaint, Haynes told his brothers Tuesday night that he had shot two “aliens” who were chasing him in an ATV with firefighter decals.
Haynes said he shot the “aliens” multiple times and his account was consistent with the victims’ wounds and evidence at the scene, according to the complaint.
According to a GoFundMe account set up to raise money to pay for expenses caused by Robinson’s death, Landin’s mother, Amber Hise was at home in Ohio when she learned her son had been killed.
“Landin was the sweetest young man, he would give you the shirt off of his back,” writes Tiffani Cowan Hendrix, who organized the fundraiser. “He loved his sisters, loved his friends, and loved sports. He was a great kid!
“He aspired to be a welder and had plans to go to welding school after graduating from high school.”
“Words sometimes can’t describe how everything happened and how everything unfolded,” Malvern football coach Matt Chiurco said. “It’s just an absolute disaster.”
Robinson joined the team last year as a sophomore when his family moved to the district, but an injury limited him to playing special teams and a little bit on the line, Chiurco said.
“This year we were counting on him to probably be one of our tackles,” the coach said.
Robinson was a quiet, humble and coachable kid who was a good student and wanted to become a welder, his coach said.
Chiurco said he, a guidance counselor and a pastor spoke to the football players this week about Robinson’s death.
Brown Local Schools Superintendent Mark Scott said in-person, video and telephone counseling would be available for students, staff and families.
“The Brown Local School District family is deeply saddened by the loss of Landin and he will be greatly missed,” Scott wrote on Facebook.
On Monday, Chiurco, High School Principal Tim Babiczuck and guidance counselor Jeremy Taylor, who also coaches, will make the 21-hour drive to Luling.
Beacon Journal staff contributed to this report.
Reach Shane at shane.hoover@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: @shooverREP