A tragic incident unfolded in Texas as a woman lost her life in a suspected carjacking while on a trip to support her best friend battling cancer.
Marietta Allison had journeyed from Austin to Houston to be by the side of her friend, Cassie Daniel, who was undergoing her second round of treatment for stage 4 ovarian cancer on Saturday, March 7.
After a long day at the hospital, during which Allison cared for Daniel through chemotherapy, the friends left around 10:30 p.m. to stay at a nearby acquaintance’s home.
Finding no available parking at the residence, Allison dropped off Daniel and her father before driving around the block in search of a parking spot.
A joyful moment captured Marietta Allison and Cassie Daniel during a vacation in Egypt. (Image courtesy of Cassie Daniel)
“We were just settling in when I heard a scream followed by a gunshot,” Daniel recounted to Fox News Digital. “It was as if something heavy had hit the ground, and I thought, ‘Was that a gunshot?’”
When Daniel realized Allison had not returned from parking the car, she began to worry.
“I stepped out into the living room and told my friends, ‘Was that a gunshot?’” Daniel said. “She was like, ‘Have you heard from Marietta?’ and I said no. And my friend said, ‘Well, I just tried to call her, and she didn’t answer.’”
Marietta Allison and Cassie Daniel became friends in November 2021 through a leadership program they were both enrolled in. (Courtesy of Cassie Daniel)
Feeling as though something was wrong, Daniel went to the last known location of Allison’s phone, where she found Allison lying on the sidewalk surrounded by police officers.
“She was lying on the ground, and the paramedics were around her and I could see her purse down on the sidewalk,” Daniel said, adding Allison’s wallet was left at the scene.
Marietta Allison was gunned down in an alleged carjacking while driving her friend to cancer treatment in Houston, Texas on Friday, March 6, 2026. (Courtesy of Cassie Daniel)
Authorities quickly learned that the vehicle Allison was driving was missing, launching a frantic search for an apparent carjacker as her loved ones watched helplessly as she was transported to a hospital, where she later died from her injuries.
“She was almost instantly killed, if not just a few seconds later,” Daniel told Fox News Digital. “She was shot kind of through the neck and through the head.”
Following a brief search, officers found 18-year-old Darius DeWayne Hall driving the victim’s stolen vehicle, resulting in a high-speed chase, according to KHOU 11.
Marietta Allison was gunned down in an alleged carjacking while driving her friend to cancer treatment in Houston, Texas on Friday, March 6, 2026. (Courtesy of Cassie Daniel)
Hall subsequently crashed the vehicle along the Southwest Freeway and attempted to flee on foot, sparking an hours-long standoff in a nearby residential area, according to the outlet.
“I opened my door around 4:15 a.m., and there was an officer on his knees with a shield and one behind him with a gun pointing right down the stairs to that unit where they found him,” neighbor Ken Knisely told KHOU 11.
Hall was later taken into custody at around 7 a.m. and charged with capital murder stemming from Allison’s death.
Marietta Allison was driving friend Cassie Daniel to cancer treatment in Houston, Texas when she was shot and killed by an alleged carjacker on Friday, March 6, 2026. (Courtesy of Cassie Daniel)
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Daniel is choosing to remember Allison as a loving individual who spent her last moments taking care of her friend in need.
“She was literally sitting in the hospital bed, spoon-feeding me a fruit bowl,” Daniel told Fox News Digital as she recalled her final day with Allison. “And I was like, ‘Love like this exists.’”
Marietta Allison was gunned down in an alleged carjacking while driving her friend to cancer treatment in Houston, Texas on Friday, March 6, 2026. (Courtesy of Cassie Daniel)
“So I could see the tender care, compassion, empathy and just the love that was there. And at the same time, I was like, this is a precious moment. I had no idea that it would be one of my last moments with her.”
The Houston Police Department did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
