RICHMOND, Va. — Tangee Massey says she clings to her daughter's shoe as the last tangible memory she has of Genesis Jones.
Jones, 23, was shot and killed on Feb. 21 while celebrating her brother's birthday in Richmond's Shockoe Bottom neighborhood.
"I feel empty, frustrated. I'm sad. I just want my daughter back, knowing in reality that won't happen," Massey said. "I have not been able to sleep in my room since I am sleeping up under her bedroom. I just want to hear her again, even though I know she's not here."
Police recently charged three men with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting.
"These are people that brought guns to a social event, found themselves in a situation, and made terrible decisions that cost two people their lives and wounded other people," Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards said when announcing the arrests.
City leaders said alcohol, a street fight, and easy access to guns fueled the violence in Shockoe Bottom and Jones was an innocent bystander to the violence after the nightclubs and bars closed for the evening.
"She was the baby girl out the family, the oldest granddaughter. Everything revolved around her. She was just a light," Massey said.
She says her daughter was working toward her cosmetology license and wanted to be a hairdresser.
Massey never thought gun violence would touch her family, until the day it stole Genesis.
"I used to say, God, I feel sorry for the mom. Now it's me," she said.
Yet she says her faith is what's keeping her going.
When asked how she plans to keep Genesis' name alive, Massey said it begins with a bus, a moving tribute to a life that meant everything to her.
Through it, she is turning her pain into purpose, traveling across Central Virginia to raise awareness about the dangers of gun violence and partnering with organizations determined to save lives.
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