The Family Dollar store that was the site of a tragic murder-suicide has re-opened, and customers have left balloons in memory of Donna Brown, 45.
Police say Dennis Haggin, 62, fatally shot Brown then himself Sunday afternoon at the store’s front door.
Brown’s family held a vigil and balloon launch Monday night, and say they lost their mother to domestic violence.
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“I was looking forward to coming to my mom’s house Sunday night to eat dinner with her,” Brown’s daughter Stephanie Dunn said.
Dunn says her mom and twin sister went to the store to buy plates for that family dinner, and while they were inside Haggin pulled into the parking lot.
“My man didn’t think he was going to kill her, her twin sister said don’t go out there, she just said, he wants to see my face. He wanted to see her face because he wanted to kill her.”
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Brown had ended a 10-year relationship with Haggin before he began harassing, beating and following her around.
“He was stalking her, where my mom had been staying,” Dunn said.
Police confirmed Brown obtained an emergency protection order against Haggin two days before her death, but it didn’t stop him from following her to the store.
“I feel like protection orders should be taken more seriously because even when they get one, they’re still free so they’ll still try to make their way,” Dunn said.
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Dunn says now her mom’s nine children are left with a huge hole in their hearts and in their family.
“My mom was the life of the party, she did all the gathering, every holiday we were gathered up here.”