A 24-year-old Maryland resident didn't have to die, her family says.
Marie Shade Adebayo was gunned down Monday night in the parking lot of a Target store in Montgomery County Monday night, and her devastated loved ones are mourning a young woman who had a bright future before her.
The University of Maryland, College Park graduate dreamed of helping others by becoming a counselor, her family told News4.
"She was so kind and so non-judgmental. She was great," said a cousin of Adebayo's who asked that her name be withheld.
Adebayo was shot by her ex-boyfriend, Donald Wayne Bricker Jr., 27, about 7:30 p.m. Monday in the parking lot of the Target store at 20908 N. Frederick Road in Germantown, according to Montgomery County Police.
Adebayo dated Bricker for about six months, her family said. They broke up, and she agreed to meet her ex-boyfriend in the Target parking lot to talk.
Witnesses heard the former couple arguing in a car, and then investigators say Bricker fired at Adebayo multiple times. He fled in a white Ford Ranger, with police in pursuit, officials said.
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Nearly 10 miles from the Target store, Bricker crashed his truck in Darnestown, Maryland about 8:10 p.m., police said. He was arrested in the 15800 block of Darnestown Road/Route 28 and then hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
A gun was recovered at the scene of the crash, police said.
Court records show Bricker is a registered sex offender with a criminal record dating back to 2007. He now faces charges including first-degree murder.
A vigil for Adebayo will be held 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at Seneca Valley High School in Germantown, where she graduated.
"She just had so much more to go for. She had so many more plans," Adebayo's cousin said.
A GoFundMe page seeks to raise $30,000 for the family.