Grieving mother speaks out after daughter's death in Braddock shooting

The mother whose daughter was shot and killed on Saturday morning in Braddock shared the agony she's facing in the days after her death. 

"It's hard to sleep because every time I wake up, I feel this pain in my chest like it was the pain that she felt," said Mia Merideth, the mother of 26-year-old Quinn Venay. "It's the thought of going back to sleep knowing that I'm going to wake up with that same feeling again, knowing my baby was scared."

Venay was shot and killed along Braddock Avenue near Club Elegance. Two other women were also shot and hospitalized. 

"Knowing that something was wrong with Quinn and I had to rush over there, the whole time I just prayed to God because he always told me he would protect all five of my kids," Meredith said. 

In her heart, she felt it could not be serious. It was.

"We don't even know why, but she definitely wasn't a target," Venay said 

The three women were shot at by an unknown suspect from across the street, Allegheny County police said.

"She was so full of life," Merideth said, adding that she brought laughter into every room she entered. 

Venay, who had two young children, was a baker, hairstylist, and a model, her mother said. Her growing career as a model was giving her daughter's life purpose at a critical time.

"Quinn battled with depression at a young age, and she battled being suicidal," Merideth said. "In the last year and a half or so, she overcame the demon of depression, and I was so proud of her."

Asked if there's a message her daughter would have wanted to share, she replied, "It's OK to not be OK."

Her anthem is now a message her family can put to use.

"She was so giving, so caring, so loving, even to people that she felt wronged her. She was just so loving," Meredith said. 

Family members drew attention to Quinn's final Facebook post. Meant to be humorous, it now holds a different meaning.

"Crazy thing is, I'm going home," she wrote.