Houston woman killed in Florida was not the gunman's first target, police report states

Aija Hunter, 24, of Houston, was murdered in Florida on Oct. 31, 2018 when she was allegedly shot by a fellow hurricane relief worker, authorities said. less PHOTOS: Houston woman helping with hurricane relief shot dead in Florida Aija Hunter, 24, of Houston, was murdered in Florida on Oct. 31, 2018 when she was allegedly shot by a fellow hurricane relief worker, ... more PHOTOS: Houston woman helping with hurricane relief shot dead in Florida Photo: Michelle Anderson/Northwest Florida Daily News Photo: Michelle Anderson/Northwest Florida Daily News Image 1 of / 114 Caption Close Houston woman killed in Florida was not the gunman's first target, police report states 1 / 114 Back to Gallery

Houston resident Aija Hunter wasn't Ledesma Wooden's first target when he opened fire toward a van filled with Hurricane Michael recovery workers in Florida earlier this week, police said.

According to a Fort Walton Beach police report, Wooden shot toward another worker before he opened fire toward the van on Wednesday night, fatally shooting Hunter in the driver seat and wounding another worker in the front passenger seat.

RELATED: Houston woman fatally shot while helping with Hurricane Michael recovery in Florida

Wooden is currently facing charges of murder, attempted murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in connection with the shooting. He was one of the five Houston residents at a Greyhound bus station in Fort Walton Beach at the time, including Hunter.

They had been part of a larger group tasked with helping the Hurricane Michael recovery effort in Panama City. But a verbal scuffle at the bus station ended when Wooden pulled out a handgun from his luggage.

""My baby was an extremely positive, loving and giving person," Hunter's mother Michelle Anderson told Chron.com on Thursday. "She was about service for sure... and then this happened."

At some point during the trip, Wooden was fired, and he needed to buy his own bus ticket back to Houston, police said in the report. That's how the group ended up at the Greyhound station around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The police report said the verbal altercation was centered around Wooden's firing and the fact that he needed to buy his own bus ticket. But Fort Walton Beach police Lt. Matthew Holt said investigators wanted to withhold the specifics of the argument.

Holt said police also wanted to withhold the name of the company who sent the recovery group to Florida.

During the argument, Wooden retrieved a gun from his bag and allegedly started shooting at one of the men in the group, who was able to elude the gunfire by running around the front of the work van, the police report said.

Wooden then turned the weapon toward the work van, in which Hunter and two other workers were sitting. Hunter was eventually pronounced dead at a local hospital, while the other worker who was shot in the leg survived. The only passenger who wasn't shot sat in the third row, the report said.

Wooden fled the scene on foot, but a police canine tracked him down in the area around 9:50 p.m. He was denied bond in the Okaloosa County Jail, where he was still awaiting a hearing on Friday, jail records show.

Police have since located the weapon they believe Wooden used during the shooting, and the investigation remains active, Holt said.

RELATED: Hurricane Michael stops more than 40% of Gulf oil production

Holt added that the group had been in Florida helping with the hurricane recovery for at least two weeks. He said he didn't know details about the group's daily activities.

Anderson, Hunter's mother, said her daughter left roughly three weeks ago. Most recently, Anderson said her daughter told her she had been working inside a mall, but the specific purpose of the trip remains unclear.

Anderson said she wasn't aware of any previous relationship between Hunter and Wooden before the trip.

Wooden has faced numerous charged out of Harris County dating back to 2011. In 2017, he was charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of a firearm. In 2011 and 2012, he faced charges of burglary and theft between $500 and $1,500.

Holt said Friday that police were working to confirm whether Wooden has been convicted of a felony, which would have prohibited him from possessing a firearm in the first place. All of Wooden's charges in Harris County have either been dismissed or disposed, records show.

Meanwhile, Anderson said she would leave for Florida on Friday to pick up her daughter's body. She would have been 25 on Nov. 10, Anderson said.

"She was very outgoing, extremely warm... and she loved elephants," Anderson said Thursday. "Right now, it's just so much [emotion]."

Julian Gill is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | julian.gill@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message