18-year-old shot to death at gas station had just passed Army entrance exam that morning, mom says

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — The grieving mother of a recent high school graduate said her daughter was preparing to enlist in the Army before she was shot to death at a gas station.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Aniyah Harris, 18, was a proud 2024 graduate of Bannker High School in Fulton County. Harris and her best friend were riding with another friend when they stopped at a Shell gas station on Old National Highway and Jonesboro Road on July 30.

The driver, who police have not identified, got out of the car and that’s when investigators said he was targeted by two gunmen. A shootout erupted and Harris was killed.

TRENDING STORIES:

• Husband charged with murder 25 years after missing woman’s body found in trash bags
• BIRD’S EYE VIEW: Major metro Atlanta mall is almost gone
• How low can we go? Former RHOA star’s home drops in price for a fourth time

Channel 2′s Michael Seiden spoke to Harris’ mother, Amidah Hood, who said she can’t believe it’s been a week since her daughter was killed.

Harris and her friend had just taken the Army’s entrance exam and passed on the morning she was killed. Hours later, her dreams were shattered and he was gone.

“All this senseless killing and leaving so unexpectedly, she didn’t even have a chance to do anything in life,” Hood said.

Hood said her daughter never met a stranger and was a social butterfly whether they were at the store or at a restaurant.

“Right now , I just I miss her and I want her to know that I love her and I’d do anything for her,” Hood said. “You never wake up and think that this will be your story.”

Hood said she’s now relying on her daughter’s memory to give her the strength to get through the day.

“She was beautiful and she was robbed, and its not fair,” Hood said.

Husband charged with murder 25 years after missing woman’s body found in trash bags Melissa Wolfenbarger disappeared in December 1998 from her family’s home in Atlanta.

©2024 Cox Media Group