Family and friends remembered Nicole Lovewine, 45, and her partner, 42-year-old Detra Brown at a memorial on Friday in Norfolk, Virginia.
Lovewine and Brown were shot and killed when they rushed to help Nicole’s 19-year-old daughter, who was shot in the shoulder by her boyfriend. The pregnant teenager was treated and released from a hospital.
Norfolk Police say 19-year-old Ziontay Brian Ricardo Palmer argued with the teenager when he dropped her off at her home. He allegedly shot her when she got out of the vehicle.
Lovewine and Brown were on their way home from work when they saw the shooting and confronted Palmer who shot them both point blank in the head.
Lovewine leaves behind four children, three boys and the 19-year-old victim.
Neighbors Sara “Sa’idah” Costine, 44, and a 39-year-old woman heard the gunfire and rushed outside where they were shot by Palmer, according to WTKR News.
Costine, a mother-of-six, was killed and the 39-year-old woman was wounded.
Three of Costine’s six children were playing on a trampoline and witnessed their mother’s murder. The youngest is just 6 years old.
Palmer was arrested and charged with 3 counts of second-degree murder, 2 counts of malicious wounding and 5 counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Norfolk Police Chief Larry Boone intentionally called the incident a “mass shooting” to shine a national spotlight on the tragedy.