AUSTIN, Texas — A University of Texas graduate was killed during a terror attack at a luxury hotel in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, on Tuesday.
The UT graduate has been identified as Jason Spindler, who was a CEO and managing director for I-DEV International.
Four gunmen stormed into the upscale hotel popular with westerners, killing at least 20 people on Tuesday.
Officials said Wednesday the area is finally safe and that Al-Qaeda linked "Al Shabab" has claimed responsibility. This is the same group the U.S. State Department issued a warning about 10 months ago.
Spindler graduated from UT Austin in 2000 with a bachelor's in finance and another in economics, according to a university spokesperson.
"Jason was a restless entrepreneur, made a positive impact on all people he connected [with] and knew how to live a grand life," Sebastian Barriga, his former UT classmate, told KVUE.
Kevin Yu, one of Spindler's former roommates, told KVUE he showed up to campus in full form.
"It felt like he already had a sense of who he was and what he wanted to do," Yu said.
The two of them lived separately at Dobie Twenty21 before moving together off-campus with a few other friends at The Lenox.
After graduation, they went their separate ways, with Yu moving to the Bay Area and Spindler moving to New York City.
Spindler was working as an investment banker in Wall Street when the 9/11 attacks happened.
"I stared at the television and first thing I thought to do was reach out and call my friend, Jason," Yu recalled. He heard Spindler's survival story a week later.
Despite their distance apart, Yu said his friendship with Spindler had grown stronger over the years.
"He came to my wedding, and he was the most loved person. Everyone absolutely adored him," Yu said. "Our contact together was really a reflection of who he is, not so much who I am."
That's a quality Spindler's parents -- Joseph and Sarah -- remember well.
"He had a way about him that everyone would like him. He had a great smile," Joseph said.
Since Spindler's sudden death on Tuesday, condolences have poured in from all over the world.
"Even people that met him only once have gotten in touch with us, saying, 'You know, I met your son 10 years ago and he changed my life. I will never forget him.' He was that type of person," Joseph said.
"I think he's amazing. But he's my little baby," Sarah said.
Spindler is survived by his brothers, family and friends.
He would have turned 41 next Tuesday.
I-DEV issued the following statement:
"With very heavy hearts, we confirm that Jason Spindler, Founder and Managing Director of I-DEV, was tragically among the fatalities in yesterday's attack."
UT's McCombs School of Business, which Jason attended, posted the following statement on Twitter:
