Daughter remembers mom shot, killed in front of family in Raleigh: 'Loving person'

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The family of a Raleigh mother who was shot and killed in Raleigh is in mourning after her daughter said she was gunned down in front of her son.

"I can't forget her face, which was laid out on that floor, I can't get over her face," said Shaniya Dunston.

It's hard for Dunston to return to the home where her mom, 38-year-old Alana Enoicy, was killed on Cantwell Court on Thursday night.

"I'm her only daughter, I'm only 21 years old, imagining the fact that everyone has a mother and I don't," Dunston said.

Her 2-year-old brother is wondering when their mom is coming back. All Dunston can do is remember the good times, lucky to have been raised by a kind and caring mom who would give anyone the shirt off her back.

"My mom was a very loving person, kind, she always showed dignity to other people. She made sure I was always loved," Dunston said.

She said her mom would often help homeless people in downtown Raleigh and also look out for others. But said not everyone always showed her mom that kindness in return. Dunston said when her mom began dating 65-year-old Keith Atkinson last year, there were red flags.

"He was very short-tempered, very possessive," she said.

It was Thursday when Dunston said Keith showed up at their home. Dunston was upstairs with her aunt, while her mom, brother, and a few others were downstairs.

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"All I heard was Alana got shot, I ran downstairs as quickly as possible," she said.

Her mom was shot right in front of her young brother. Dunston said she tried to do CPR, but her mom later died at the hospital, and Atkinson took off.

"He was already casually walking off, casually walking away like it was nothing," she said.

Atkinson was later arrested and was denied bond at his first court appearance.

Now, as Dunston deals with the loss of her mom, it's another tough road ahead. As a key witness, she will now have to show up to relive what happened in court to fight for justice.

"If I could scream to the depths of heaven, I would because seeing that man walking today, it makes me furious. You physically walking this earth, and my mom isn't," she said.

Atkinson's next court hearing is on April 17, and Alana's family is hoping family, friends, and neighbors will show up in court to support her.

In the meantime, they are still planning funeral arrangements and are creating a fundraiser to help with expenses.

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