SEATTLE — Last month, a deadly shooting aboard a light rail train claimed the life of 26-year-old Damitrious Cranshaw.
On Tuesday, his mother, Tameka Cranshaw, spoke about the loss she is still processing. She spoke with her son one week before the shooting.
"The last thing he did say to me is how much he loved me, and I am going to keep that close. I am going to keep his voice in my head as long as I can,” said Cranshaw.
On Feb. 25, surveillance video captured the moments when Damitrious Cranshaw was riding the train through downtown Seattle. Prosecutors say he was tripped by another passenger, Jamari Bland. What followed was Bland allegedly getting up aggressively. Court documents say Bland began to fight with Cranshaw, then shot him in the head.
Police say Bland opened the train's emergency door and made a quick exit. But he soon came forward through a public defender. He was arrested less than a week after the shooting.
"It's a nightmare. It takes my breath away. I can't believe an argument on a light rail can take my son's life,” said Cranshaw. "Why he would shoot my son -- I don't understand it."
From June of last year, when Sound Transit began a tracking system for assaults, to the shooting that happened last month, there have been 256 assaults on passengers. Ridership during the same time was well over 2 million boardings each month.
While violent attacks on the train are rare, it only took one to change Cranshaw's life.
"This is the worst thing that has ever happened to me. No parent should have to bury their child,” said Cranshaw.
Cranshaw started an online fundraiser for her son’s burial, and she is focused on sharing his story so the community does not forget.
“I want everybody to remember him and remember what happened to him,” she said.
Bland is charged with murder in the second degree. He pleaded not guilty earlier this month.