SPRINGFIELD — Mother’s Day will not be the same for a Springfield mom.
>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Mother speaks out after daughter killed in Mother’s Day shooting
Stacy Cameron spoke with News Center 7′s Brandon Lewis Sunday about the loss of her daughter, Shauna, who was shot and killed on Mother’s Day last year.
She reflected on the past 12 months.
Lewis says Stacy spent Sunday giving out flowers to mothers in Springfield. She said she wants to see more people be kind to one another.
She’s hoping to get that message out to as many people as she can, especially with what she’s been through.
>>ORIGINAL COVERAGE: Woman killed after shooting on US 35 in Riverside Sunday identified
“She was my best friend, literally like my best friend,” she told Lewis Sunday at Champion City Church. “One of the things that I can say that I tried to teach my children most of all was kindness and empathy and being kind and helping one another and that’s one of the things people kept saying about Shauna.”
Stacy Cameron said she was so proud of her daughter, Shauna. The 31-year-old was working toward a career in health care and had a few semesters left at Ross Medical Center in Dayton.
The Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office said Shauna Cameron died after being shot in a car on U.S. 35 near Woodman Drive in May 2022. She was pronounced dead at Miami Valley Hospital.
“Forever my life has changed on Mother’s Day,” said Stacy. “Sometimes, I do things that we used to do like when I’m by myself at home we love music so when certain songs come on or music, I close my eyes and I pretend like she’s beside me dancing.”
>>RELATED: Man indicted on murder charges in Mother’s Day shooting on US-35
Lewis said she wanted to meet at Champion City Church, a place that has helped her deal with her daughter’s loss. She described the church as her safe place to freely grieve and lean on hope.
“It’s like my family, they’re like my family,” said Stacy. “I call them my literal family, they’re my other family.”
News Center 7 reported back in October a grand jury indicted Jamar Hayes on several charges including murder, he pleaded not guilty.
“I hope that Jamar wherever he’s at, well I know where he’s at, is thinking about me and thinking about the choice that he made, the decision that he made that not only changed his life forever, but he changed my life,” Stacy told Lewis.
She plans to tell her daughter’s story and speak out about gun violence going forward.
>>RELATED: $2.5 million bond set for man accused of deadly Mother’s Day shooting on U.S. 35
“I miss her very much and the pain is, it’s just as hard today as it was that day,” said Stacy. “But I do choose forgiveness. I want justice. I do not excuse his choices or his behaviors because he chose it but I choose to forgive.”
She told Lewis this past week has been tough because she had to recognize Shauna’s death on May 8. That’s because Mother’s Day fell on that day last year.
Since Mother’s Day was on another day this year, she had to recognize the anniversary twice.
©2023 Cox Media Group
