Mom of North Richland Hills teen killed in shooting recalls son’s big heart, strong faith
Elizabeth Lopez was the type of mother who was a little closed off, she said, the kind of mom who was focused on work and providing for her family first and foremost — but after the death of her 16-year-old son earlier this week — she feels called to something more in hopes of honoring his contagious energy.
“I was the person who never wanted to do social media, I wanted to be closed off, I just wanted to do my job and go home. I didn’t want nobody in my life,” Lopez said. “But now, I feel like all I want to do is reach out to people who are hurting. Teenagers. Anybody. Anybody and everybody I can touch and be a blessing to, I feel like that’s what God is calling me to do.”
The feeling to help others is inspired by the outpouring of support her community has provided her since her son Daijhuan Jones’ death, and her favorite memories of him. Daijhuan, a student at Birdville High School in North Richland Hills, was one of two teenagers fatally shot at a Haltom City basketball court Tuesday afternoon. Isaiah Mendoza, 17, also was killed in the shooting at North Park, which police are still investigating.
“I know in his death, there’s going to be so much good out of it. I already feel so blessed. His friends, they call me, they put me in a chat link, their personal chat link. I might have lost my son, but I gained a lot of daughters and other sons out of this tragic situation,” Lopez said. “For that, I’m grateful, because you know what? My son’s death was a blessing because he’s going to touch so many hearts in the way God intended it to be. I always told him, ‘Daijhuan, you are so powerful. Your energy, you command attention, you’re so influential.’ He took a hold of people and people just listened.”
Lopez admitted that the 16-year-old had gotten in some trouble over the past summer and was struggling with the death of his father three years ago, but recently Daijhuan was on track to graduate, with aspirations of becoming an aerospace engineer.
“He wanted to make me so proud. I was talking to the school and his graduation coach, and this lady was such a wonderful help, she really was just touching his heart,” Lopez said. “And the last day he went in there talking to her, he was like, ‘I’m so excited, don’t tell my mom about my grades. … I just really want to show her. Show her I’m putting in the work. I’m putting in the time now.’”
“He was finally going in the right direction, and it wasn’t because he wasn’t a smart kid, he was just making different choices that weren’t the greatest, but he was on it at this point. He was making an 83 in geometry and picking that up really quick. He was so smart. His grades were getting there.”
A life cut too short
As a single mother taking care of a teenager and his siblings, Lopez said she regretted working so much to support her family, and she was hoping to make it up to them before Daijhuan’s death.
“There was so much pressure there when you don’t have a male role model, then your mom is never there because she works so much,” Lopez said. “There needs to be more programs out there for kids that don’t have those father figures, those girls and boys. It’s so important. There needs to be a village for those single parents who are just trying to make it.”
She was planning a surprise family trip to Georgia, where her kids’ late father’s family lived, a place Daijhuan hadn’t been back to in over a decade.
“They haven’t seen him since he was like 3 years old,” Lopez said. “That was going to be our first family vacation. We were going to go to Georgia, then we were going to go out to the beach out that way, and have the greatest time ever. We were supposed to make more memories and have more time. I just wish I done it sooner. I wish I would have had the finances so much sooner.”
She was excited to bring the teenager around that side of his family because “they would have loved him,” she said. “They would have seen how so much of his dad in him.”
“I really wish I could have done more than I could have,” she said.
Remembering, forgiving, moving forward
Just days after his death, Lopez is focused on making sure her son’s love and energy continues to live on. She described the 16-year-old as someone who had a big heart with even bigger faith in his relationship with God.
“God was one of the biggest things in his life. He would always talk to his friends, and just people he knew, and he would get close to them, then open up and have those deep conversations,” Lopez said. “He was very in tune with the Lord and for that, I’m very grateful.”
Lopez, who spoke often about her faith when describing her son, feels that through the tragic incident, “God has given me the strength and wisdom to speak on this,” and that a higher calling awaits, including giving love back to her community.
“People need to be loved. People need to love each other, it’s so important for people to love each other. We hold too much anger, and disappointment, and hate, and it’s just time to stop,” Lopez said, recalling that her son always demonstrated his love with hugs and kisses, even in front of his friends.
“[Love] is vulnerable. We’re always so scared of what other people are going to think,” Lopez said. “It takes a very strong person to show true love, and he didn’t care, he would always kiss me in front of his friends. … I would tell him to show his love, because that’s strength. It takes strength to love on other people.”
The biggest demonstration of love now, for Lopez, is forgiveness.
“I’ve already forgiven the person who did this. I really have, I have no anger,” Lopez said. “[Anger] is not anything we need in this world. We don’t need any more hate. We need more love for one another. I hope his (the shooter’s) mom never has to go through the things I’m going through. I hope their mother can see nothing but goodness come from their [child] even though they caused this tragic situation.”
Lopez continued, that although local police haven’t found suspects yet in the double homicide, that she hopes those responsible “want to do better in their life.”
“[I hope] they realize, ‘Yes, I made a big mistake, but you know what? I can still continue on and be a good person from this, I can still forgive. I can ask God for forgiveness.’ But the biggest thing is going to be for them to forgive themselves for what they took away from this world.”
This story was originally published November 18, 2021 at 2:55 PM with the headline "Mom of North Richland Hills teen killed in shooting recalls son’s big heart, strong faith."
