A beloved grandma in Louisiana was shot in cold blood in front of her eight-year-old grandson after she tried to stop a teenager from allegedly stealing her daughter's car.
La'Tasha Thomas, 48, was running errands with her grandson on January 19 when she spotted someone driving the stolen car with several people inside.
She called 911 and continued following the car, when the 14-year-old got out of the vehicle and allegedly shot her through the glass.
'My nephew had my mother's blood all over him,' Thomas' daughter Kahadijah Woods told UWK.
'He told me, those were her last words before she closed her eyes in front of him. "He shot me!" He took his grandmother's life in front of him. My son is only eight years old,' Thomas's daughter, Beyonce, said.
Thomas and her grandson, O'mari, had gone to the store after they had reported Woods' car had been stolen.
'In the process of waiting for the police, we just kept hearing sirens. My sister kept calling [Thomas], and she wouldn't pick up. I called her and texted her a few times. It's not normal for her to not respond to either one of us,' Woods told the outlet.
Beyonce rushed out to find them, she said: 'For some strange reason, she took my son with her that day. I kept calling, but she wouldn't answer. My nerves were shot.'
La'Tasha Thomas, 48, was running errands with her grandson on January 19 when she spotted someone driving her daughter's stolen car before she was fatally shot by a 14-year-old
Thomas had been with her eight-year-old grandson, O'mari (pictured left). His aunt Kahadijah Woods said: 'My nephew had my mother's blood all over him'
'He told me, those were her last words before she closed her eyes in front of him. "He shot me!" He took his grandmother's life in front of him. My son is only eight years old,' Thomas's daughter, Beyonce (pictured right), said
She flagged down a stranger to take a lift, not knowing where to go until she saw police and ambulances on Plank Road.
'I heard my baby screaming, "Mom, Mom! They killed Momo. They killed Momo," I just lost it,' she said.
The boy said that he saw four males in the car with covered faces, Beyonce told the outlet: 'He said one was chubby, one was skinny, but he couldn't identify anyone because they all had on ski masks.'
The family believes that the car thieves had killed Thomas in cold blood to get away with their heist.
'They saw the car, and by them knowing what kind of car they had just stolen, they took her life,' Beyonce said.
'For a tragedy like this to happen, and for him to have no type of heart, just to kill her in front of my son.'
Woods said that Thomas had been 'everything' to Beyonce: 'I have a family - kids and my fiancé. My sister was a single mom, and our mom was all she had.'
The teen went home and told his mother what happened, she took him to the Baton Rouge Police Department where he turned himself in, according to the BRPD.
Pictured: The stretch of Baton Rouge where Thomas was mercilessly gunned down allegedly by a 14-year-old
'Why did this happen? Why did I have to lose my mom the day before my birthday? She didn't deserve this. My son didn't deserve to witness this,' Beyonce cried
The teen went home and told his mother what happened, she took him to the Baton Rouge Police Department where he turned himself in. He was charged with second-degree murder and illegal use of a weapon
Detectives said that the stolen vehicle was later recovered, but it had been set on fire.
The teen, who is not being named due to his age, was charged with second-degree murder and illegal use of a weapon.
'I'm grateful she turned him in, but why did it have to come to this? Why did my mom have to lose her life?' Beyonce said.
'Why did this happen? Why did I have to lose my mom the day before my birthday? She didn't deserve this. My son didn't deserve to witness this,' she cried.
The family set up a GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses, which has raised nearly $2,000 toward its $5,000 goal.
'This tragedy has left us not only mourning the loss of a beautiful soul but also grappling with anger, confusion and deep sadness. Tasha was a very down-to-earth person who loved spending her time cooking and being creative, making arts and crafts,' the fundraiser said.
'As a family, we want to give Tasha the proper homegoing she deserves, but the unexpected expenses for the funeral arrangements have been overwhelming.'
'To see her life taken in such a violent way is something we cannot come to terms with... Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for helping us care for her as we prepare to say our final goodbye.'
'I have to live the rest of my life with this pain. She was my mother, my son's Momo, and she was taken from us too soon,' Beyonce said.