A man who was killed during a Black Lives Matter protest in Austin, Texas, was an Air Force veteran and a full-time caretaker for his fiancée

• Garrett Foster, 28, was shot and killed by a motorist during a Black Lives Matter protest in Austin, Texas, on Saturday night.
• He was pushing his fiancée Whitney Mitchell's wheelchair when a man drove his car into the crowd of protesters.
• After protesters confronted the driver, the driver opened fire and fatally shot Foster.
• Foster was an Air Force veteran, who had been Mitchell's caretaker for nearly a decade.

A man who was fatally shot during a Black Lives Matter protest in Austin, Texas, was identified as Garret Foster, an Air Force veteran who had been the caretaker for his fiancée, Whitney Mitchell, for nearly a decade.

Foster, 28, was pushing Mitchell's wheelchair through the protest in Austin on Saturday night when a man drove his car into the crowd of protesters. After protesters confronted the driver, the driver opened fire. Police have not identified the motorist but told The Washington Post that the driver was briefly taken into custody and has since been released.

In an interview with "Good Morning America Weekend" on Sunday, Foster's mother, Sheila Foster, said her son and Mitchell regularly went to the protests. Foster was also a second-amendment supporter, and started bringing his assault rifle to protests after his roommate was arrested at a demonstration, The Washington Post reported.

Austin Police Chief Brian Manley told USA Today that the driver suspected of shooting Foster told investigators that Foster pointed his weapon at him, and he responded by pointed his handgun out his window and firing multiple shots. Other witnesses told the Austin American-Statesman that Foster did not point his gun at the driver.

—Lauren McGaughy (@lmcgaughy) July 26, 2020

Mitchell's mother, Patricia Kirven, told the Dallas Morning News that Foster was killed protecting her daughter from the gunfire.

"They thought the person was aiming at her because she is a sitting duck," she said.

Foster was originally from Plano, Texas, but had been living with Mitchell in Austin for about two years, according to the report.

His sister, Anna Mayo, told USA Today that Foster, who is white, and Mitchell, who is black, had faced hate from others because of their relationship.

"They've experienced so much hate just for their relationship in general," she said. "From day one, he fought to end that."

Sheila Foster told GMA that her son and Mitchell had been together since they were 17 years old. She said Mitchell lost her limbs when she was 19, after developing an illness that led to sepsis.

Foster had cared for Mitchell "almost constantly ever since," Sheila Foster told GMA. She said Foster was briefly in the Air Force but left to be Mitchell's full-time caretaker.

"I saw my son at 19 years old brush this girl's teeth, comb her hair. He would put her on the toilet and clean her up, and he would make sure that she got bathed and make sure that she was able to get dressed and took her everywhere that she needed to go. And he's been doing that ever since," Sheila Foster told GMA. "They just bought their house in Austin two years ago."

The couple had been planning on getting married, but wanted to wait until Mitchell could use prosthetics to walk down the aisle, Sheila Foster said.

"She physically is OK, but mentally she is not," Kirven told the Morning News of her daughter's current state. "'Inconsolable' is the only word I can think of because she'll talk for a bit and then break down."

Expanded Coverage Module: black-lives-matter-module