The mother of a man killed just days before Christmas in Capitol Heights, Maryland, said he was the second son she has lost.
Ian Dawley, 22, was shot in the parking lot of a strip on Marlboro Pike Saturday afternoon. He grew up in that neighborhood but lived in Suitland.
Shaun Dawley said her son was someone who cared about his family, especially a young niece.
“She's 9,” she said. “We haven't told her yet because we didn't want to ruin Christmas for her."
She lost another son unexpectedly.
“My first, he was 20 months old,” she said. “He was killed at day care. Now this. It just hurts so bad."
She said she’s had other losses this year.
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“I lost my job, my home was burned, and now I'm burying my son,” she said. “I haven’t had a very good year."
Her family will spend the holiday making funeral arrangements, for which they are struggling to pay.
“The killing has to stop,” Shaun Dawley said. “Mothers gotta stop burying their children."
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family with funeral expenses.