'They took my child's life.' Teenager shot multiple times while on the way to grandmother's house in Weldon
A Halifax County mother is demanding accountability after her teenage son was shot and killed on the way to his grandmother's house.
Posted — UpdatedShawanda Watson said her 19-year-old son, Ja'eid Watson, was in the 900 block of Sycamore Street in Weldon on Thursday when he was shot multiple times in the back. Shawanda Watson said she was by her son's side in his last moments and begged for him to push through until it was too late.
She said she tries to remember her son as a vibrant, happy recent high school graduate who loved playing sports and riding his dirt bike more than anything and had dreams of starting his own business.
"He was a good kid. He loved to smile and joke and play around," said Shawanda Watson.
Ja'eid Watson left his mother's home in Roanoke Rapids on Thursday morning for a visit to his grandmother's. Soon after, Shawanda Watson said she got a call from first responders.
"They told me my son was shot multiple times in the back. He was trying to leave," she said.
Shawanda Watson said she rushed to where her son had been shot. When she arrived, she said she found her son lying in the road and bleeding heavily from gunshot wounds.
"I just got there beside him, and I know he heard my voice and I told him to breathe. I said, 'Breathe, son, breathe.' He heard me, tried to breathe. He tried," she said.
Ja'eid Watson died from his injuries that day.
The Halifax County Sheriff's Office said they're still investigating the shooting, but they believe Ja'eid Watson knew the gunman. Shawanda Watson said she agrees. She added that her son's life had been threatened before in their community.
"They took my child's life," said Shawanda Watson. "It could be your family next. How many people do they have to kill before they're taken off the streets?"
Shawanda Watson said she struggles to forget her son's last moments and hold on instead to the life he lived.
“He was here with me at all times. He’d say, 'Mom I’m never going to leave you.' I don’t have anyone. I’m here alone now because some people took my baby away from me," said Shawanda Watson.
Detectives have asked anyone with information to contact the sheriff’s office at 252-583-8201 or Halifax County Crime Stoppers at 252-583-4444
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