Rockland County Native Killed in Austin Attack

A GoFundMe has been set up to help Douglas Kantor's family.

By Maxine Lipner June 17, 2021

Rockland County mourns one of its own with the death of Douglas John Kantor, an Airmont native and Suffern High School alumnus. Kantor, 25, was shot while waiting outside an Austin, Texas bar at 1:30am on Saturday. More than 12 people were injured in this mass shooting.

Rockland County Executive Ed Day offered his condolences. “Doug’s death is a loss to our entire community, and I ask that we all keep him and his family in our thoughts and prayers,” Day said in a statement.

To help defer costs to the family, a GoFundMe page has been set up, according to Lindsay Gulla, who organized the fundraiser. “He was an innocent victim of a senseless gang-related shooting,” Gulla said, adding that Kantor was just visiting a friend in Austin when he was struck down.

Among those mourning Kantor are his girlfriend of 10 years, Adrianna Esposito, who he was planning on marrying, his mother Julia, his father John Budnick and his older brother, Nick. As noted on the GoFundMe page, “Doug was loved by all who knew him and had an infectious smile that would light up any room.”

Nick, who spoke to KXAN in Austin, credits the police for their valiant attempt to save his brother’s life, helping to transport him to the hospital in their own squad car.

Unfortunately, Kantor passed away just after noon on Sunday, from his abdominal wound. He had been living in Michigan most recently, after getting a bachelor’s degree at Michigan State in computer engineering. Kantor was working at Ford Motor Company. He had bought his first house and recently gotten his master’s degree. Kantor and his high school sweetheart were looking forward to starting a family.

Two teenagers were arrested for the shooting. One, a 17-year-old, will be charged as an adult, and faces aggravated assault charges, while the other is considered a juvenile and the court records will remain confidential.

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