NEED TO KNOW
- Tiamoya Moore, 34, is being remembered as a loving mother who “changed her life around”
- Her 16-year-old daughter has been arrested in connection with the shooting that killed her
- A neighbor says she heard several shots from Moore’s residence on the night of the incident
Authorities in Texas allege a 16-year-old fatally shot her mother last week before briefly fleeing on foot.
Tiamoya Moore, 34, was killed after being shot several times in a Galveston, Texas, residence on Thursday, Sept. 11, Galveston police said in a statement.
Police responded to calls about a shooting on Thursday evening when they found Moore and transported her to a medical facility, where she was pronounced dead.
Police allege the suspect — later identified as Moore’s 16-year-old daughter — fled the scene on foot.
The teen, whose name was not publicly announced by police, returned to the crime scene as police were processing it. She was arrested without incident, police claimed in their statement.
A neighbor who lives across the street from the shooting says she heard gunshots and hid in her home.
“She was screaming. She was screaming. And I hear, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom,” Gracela Molina told WLTX. “It was scary. I just ran.”
Moore was a devoted mom to her children, her childhood friend told FOX 26 Houston.
“Tia would give you the shirt off of her back. Tia loved her kids. She would do anything for her kids. She was very spiritual, very into God, changed her life around for God,” said Alicia Giessinger.
On her Facebook account, Moore documented her journey getting sober over the last few months.
“I’m happy for me,” she wrote in one of the posts in December.
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Galveston police said in their statement the teen is being held at a juvenile justice center on the offense of murder, but it wasn’t immediately clear if official charges have been filed.
Moore’s loved ones are still searching for answers.
“I just want to know what really happened, like, what caused for that to get to this point to where you had to take your own mama’s life,” Giessinger told FOX 26 Houston.
A GoFundMe has been set up to assist with Moore’s funeral expenses.
The investigation is ongoing.