Charlotte teen’s friends were shot, she wanted to be a nurse. Then she was killed at stoplight
Brianna Stephenson was saving up money to become a nurse after some of her high school classmates in Charlotte had died from gun violence.
On Sunday, Stephenson became a victim herself.
The 19-year-old Stephenson, a recent honors graduate of Harding High School, died Monday in the hospital. She was shot on Sunday while sitting in a car stopped at a traffic light at the intersection of Freedom Drive and Tuckaseegee Road, her mother Brandy Wynn, 36, and police officials said.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officials said Tuesday that they are investigating her death as a homicide, the 19th of the year for the city. No arrests have been made.
Helping others was always a theme in Stephenson’s life, Wynn told the Observer in an interview Tuesday. When she was only three years old, Stephenson was asking to help clean the house. When her twin siblings were born five years later, she wanted to learn how to change diapers. As a teenager, Stephenson would often watch over her siblings, her mother recalled.
Most recently, Stephenson had been working 36 hours a week at the Family Dollar on Wilkinson Boulevard, Wynn said. Her mother also works there. They had opposite shifts and they would see each other as one was leaving work and the other was just beginning.
“She wouldn’t spend any money,” Wynn recalls. “She’d come to work and say, ‘Mom, I’m hungry.’”
All her daughter’s money was going toward moving out to an apartment and enrolling in nursing school.
Now, Wynn is trying to understand why her daughter died.
A traffic light in west Charlotte
It was close to noon on Sunday, according to CMPD.
Her mother says she’s been told that Stephenson and her boyfriend, 18-year-old Jaquavious Royster, had just gone through a Wendy’s drive-thru.
Then, while their car was stopped at the traffic light at the intersection of Tuckaseegee Road and Freedom Drive, someone in another vehicle pulled up beside them and opened fire.
According to police, Royster received minor injuries. Stephenson, however, was shot three times — twice in the head and once in the arm, Wynn said.
An ambulance took Stephenson to the hospital. Doctors told Wynn that her daughter was not likely to survive her injuries. She died Monday.
Because the investigation is ongoing, police have not been able to share many details such as whether the shooting was targeted or random, Wynn said.
“I’m numb,” Wynn said. “I feel like it’s a nightmare like you just wanna wake up.”
Asking for help from the community
As soon as her daughter was in the hospital, Wynn turned to social media to ask for assistance with identifying the killer. A GoFundMe page was set up, asking for help to pay for medical — then funeral — expenses.
Wynn hopes witnesses will come forward to help identify whoever was in the other car.
“That’s a busy place and I was told there were several people around who were there and saw it,” Wynn said.
The GoFundMe started by Stephenson’s family has raised over $2,000 so far. Wynn has received dozens of friend requests from people who want to help, she said.
Each dollar goes a long way, Wynn said.
Stephenson is survived by six siblings, a biological father and two step-fathers, Wynn said. Her siblings are: Jacob Stephenson, 18; Sebastien LaPrairie, 14; Joakim Shorts, 11; Samara Shorts, 11; Micaiah Shorts, 10; Nayeli Shorts, 9. Her biological father is Troy Stephenson Jr.
Wynn is currently married to Michael Wynn and was formerly married to Aaron Shorts, who was also a step-father to Brianna Stephenson, Wynn said.
Wynn said the family moved to Charlotte in 2017 and the funeral for Stephenson will be held in Hillsboro, Ohio.
Authorities ask that anyone with information call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.
This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 5:20 PM.
