VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The mother of 15-year-old Jeyani Upshur is recalling the final moments with her daughter before she was tragically shot and killed at Mt. Trashmore Memorial Day weekend outside the summer carnival.
Last week we learned the Upshur was the victim shot in the parking lot at Mt. Trashmore off of Edwin Drive.
"It's just sad you know now that birthday celebrations are without her," Lanarda Shambley, Jeyani's mom, said.
Shambley said what would have been her daughter's 16th birthday back in September was an odd feeling to celebrate without her around.
Watch: Extended interview with Lanarda Shambley about her daughter, Jeyani Upshur
She said her daughter was a planner, silly, and tough even when it came to sports.
"She played a lot of sports but she loved flag football," Shambley said.
Jeyani was good at it, too, her mom said. Her rec leagues won the championships and were meant to have a banquet the weekend after Memorial Day.
Instead of celebrating, her family had to mourn.
Shambley tells News 3 on May 25, she remembers her daughter leaving the house to head to the carnival with friends.
Watch previous coverage: Teen killed in shooting after fight breaks out at Mt. Trashmore carnival
"I said I was just about to say, 'Are you going to leave and not say anything to me?' She said, 'No, we're about to leave now, I was not gonna forget to tell you we leaving.' and so I said, 'Okay you have a good time'," Shambley remembers.
Jeyani had lived near the park and was able to walk to the carnival with friends.
Her mom said she had been to the carnival the night before as well.
Shambley was at a cookout when her phone began to blow up with more than a dozen missed calls. Then she got a call from her son.
"He was like, 'Mom where are you at? We need you to come to the Beach. Jeyani was shot'," Shambley recalls.
She said she rushed to the hospital and later learned her daughter had died.
Shambley was in court last week for a hearing with the suspect in her daughter's case, 19-year-old Markal Cook, who was also shot that night.
Cell phone and surveillance videos shown in court were the first time she had seen footage of the fight that led to Jeyani's shooting in a parking lot.
"I'm sure when my child jumped into that fight gunshots was the furthest thing from her mind," Shambley said. "Kids fight, kids walk away from fights. You never think that someone is just going to open fire and shoot out into a crowd."
Watch: Man charged in Mt. Trashmore shooting has court appearance
Cook's charges will go to a grand jury in January.
Shambley said as she remembers all the good memories all she can hope for is justice for her daughter.
"I don't get to see my baby graduate from school, I don't get to send my baby to prom, these are all the things I'm going to miss that she looked forward to doing," Shambley said. "It's just unfair and for what, no reason at all."
