E moni Shears Obituary, Death; – This Christmas marks the first occasion that Demetria Goines will spend without her 14-year-old son, E’moni Shears. As Goines sat in her living room, reflecting on photographs of her son, she recounted the last school pictures he took.
“He asked, ‘Mama, are you going to buy my school pictures?’ I told him to just put them on the refrigerator,” Goines recalled. “He responded, ‘Well, I’m only going to be in ninth grade once.’” Tears welled in Goines’ eyes as she gazed at the image, realizing how his words foreshadowed the tragic future. E’moni Shears and his 19-year-old cousin, Jhiquez Roberts, were shot near 17th and Oliver on January 27.
According to Goines, Shears drove himself and his cousin to the hospital after being shot six times. “He said, ‘Just tell my mom I love her and let her know to hurry up,’” Goines recounted, sharing her son’s final words. Both teenagers succumbed to their injuries after arriving at a local hospital with gunshot wounds.
“Every holiday feels different. He should be here. He should be at the Thanksgiving dinner. Now, at Christmas, he should have gifts under the tree alongside the other children,” Goines lamented. Goines acknowledges that coping with Shears’ death has been challenging, yet she attributes her resilience during the holidays to her faith.
“The scripture says, ‘Vengeance is mine, says the Lord,’” Goines stated. As others prepare to gather with their families, Goines will be reminiscing over photographs of her son, contemplating what this holiday season might have entailed had he been alive. “He always made sure I was alright. ‘Ma, you okay? Ma, you good?’”
