A mother’s pain

One year later, shooting victim’s mother makes first public appeal

By St. Clair Murraine
Outlook Staff Writer

For almost a year Sandra Horne kept her feeling pent up, coping with the agony of losing her only son to gun violence.

She broke her silence, not just with words but with a billboard on south Monroe Street. Horne and advocates against gun violence hope the huge photo of DeMario “Ro” Murray will help quell what some in Tallahassee are calling an epidemic.

“This has been a struggle,” Horne said. “It has been hard. It has been devastating. This has been one of the hardest things that I have ever had to endure.

“Today I exhaled a little bit more than I have endured the whole year that my son has been gone. I really don’t think there is anything that’s going to bring closure except to bring my son back.”

Murray was shot last Oct. 29 in the parking lot of Halftime Liquor on West Pensacola Street. He was the only fatality, while eight others were injured in a mass shooting that made national headlines.

The fatality was one of 19 caused by gun violence last year. The spate of shootings continues into this year, prompting members of the local clergy and community leaders to go public with their call for calm.

With the help of attorney Mutaqee Akbar, who is president of the local chapter of the NAACP, and pastor Greg James, Horne drew attention to the billboard last Tuesday. They were joined by more than 40 other individuals.

“Our message that we want to send out is the violence must stop,” Akbar said. “DeMario was a father, he was a son, a good friend to many and he did not deserve to have his life cut short at the hands of people who were just irresponsible.”

The billboard was intentionally placed along the stretch of Monroe Street, between Palmer venue and Perkins Street, said Akbar. The hope is that with increased traffic during FAMU’s homecoming week later this month the sign will get attention.

“As we drive down south Monroe, this sign will speak louder today than ever before because it’s an innocent life that was lost to gun violence,” said James.

At one point during the brief ceremony, James encouraged the crowd to turn toward the billboard. He led them as they recited, “DeMario’s life will not be in vain. Stop the gun violence.”

James, who has built a reputation for being a foot soldier against gun violence, said just a few days before the unveiling he eulogizes an 18-year-old who was one of six victims that lost their lives in the last 45.

 “The eulogies are difficult,” James said. “What do you say to a mother; a child? What do you say to friends who are experiencing something that you’re only talking about. You understand, but you don’t really feel the pain because that connection is far greater between a mother and son.”

James’ street campaign added the voice of Charles Green, a former felon who was incarcerated seven years for a gun-related crime. Green called the shooting that led to Murray’s death “nonsense.”

Green, 39, said he uses his story to explain how guns could be deadly.

“My image draw them to me and then when they get to me it’s like opening a book,” he said. “Then, I explain guns aren’t good because you could do this or you could do that.”

Just before he was fatally shot, Murray went into the liquor store to use an ATM, his mother said. She added that the billboard was installed to keep a promise that Murray death won’t be in vain. 

Akbar, also said he is representing the family in a civil suit and that allows him to get an up close look at their agony.

“A lot of times we see the articles,” Akbar said. “A lot of times we see the headlines, but you don’t understand the pain that people go through.”

All the time that Hornes spoke, her son’s three children — Kalani, 2, Demi, 11, and stepdaughter Kaydence Williams, 13, were at her side.

One of Murray’s childhood friends, Tiffany Lee, was there offering support to Horne. Living without her friend that she grew up with from kindergarten has been agonizing, she said.

“This entire year has hit me,” she said. “It’s indescribable. You can’t really formulate it in words. DeMario was such a bright light that not only affected his mother, his children, but the community as a whole.”

Horne said she starts each day having a conversation with her son and ends it the same way.

“There was only one DeMario “Ro” Murray and to lose him was to lose everything,” she said. “To visualize my son being shot and murdered lying in a parking lot covered with a tarp is a mother’s worst nightmare.”