NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A deadly shooting inside Patrick Henry Mall on Black Friday weekend has left a local single mother devastated as she tries to make sense of the unimaginable loss of her son.
"I keep thinking it’s a dream. It’s not a dream, it’s my reality. Me and his sisters are torn," said Courtney Brown.
Brown spoke with News 3's Kelsey Jones in an exclusive interview on Monday — just two days after her son, 26-year-old Diamante Tre'von Neal, was shot and killed inside the mall.
Watch: Suspect in deadly Patrick Henry Mall shooting charged with murder
Around 11 a.m. on Saturday, officers found Neal lying on the floor inside the clothing store New Square, according to a criminal complaint obtained by News 3. He had been shot multiple times.
Neal was taken to the hospital, where he died later that morning.
Brown says her son graduated from Woodside High School and was working as an electrician at Norfolk Naval Shipyard at the time of his death. She says he was beloved by his sisters, grandmother, coworkers, and those who knew him through his community involvement.
"My son was a coach for boys," said Brown, in reference to his role as a youth recreational football coach. "My son was a big brother, a mentor. My son was a member of a church.”
Gary Carlton Moore III, 26, of Newport News, is charged with second-degree murder and multiple firearm-related offenses in connection with the shooting.
A criminal complaint says surveillance video from New Square shows Moore approaching Neal, then trying to tackle him, leading to a "short struggle." The video then shows Moore taking Neal's firearm, according to the complaint, before pulling out his own gun and firing it while Neal was "in the process of retreating."
Moore claimed he acted in self-defense, the complaint states, but Brown says she doesn't believe that was the case. She tells News 3 that Moore and Neal knew each other, and she believes there was lingering animosity between the two.
“You can’t act in self-defense that was pre-meditated," Brown said.
Brown says her son's tragic death is a painful reminder of an ongoing, widespread problem: gun violence. She wants to see change in the community to prevent others from experiencing what it feels like to lose a child.
“The young man was... locked up, but that can’t bring back my son," said Brown. "I want to be able to hold my son. I want to be able to hear those phone calls, and I keep calling back to his cellphone thinking that he’s gonna pick up."
Tune into News 3 at 11 for more.
