Mother's Murder Won't Stop Boy's Christmas

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- Nearly two weeks after a barber shop shootout killed a mother, strangers gave a huge number of gifts to the two-year-old boy she died protecting.

Monique Nelson was killed on December 14 when gunfire erupted inside a South Sacramento barber shop.

Nelson shielded her two-year-old son Jayden with her body when bullets started flying, and when the gunfight spilled into a strip mall parking lot, a bullet came through the windshield, fatally wounding her.

"It's just a tragic time right now," said Richard Nelson, Monique's brother. "Holidays are supposed to be fun, loving, warm, and it's not necessarily warm without Monique."

Several restaurants and organizations held donation drives for Jayden and delivered the gifts to Richard on Christmas Eve, chipping in everything from Hot Wheels to bath toys.

"It just touched my heart to know these people are coming together to support Jayden," Richard said.

Jayden still doesn't seem to completely understand that his mother is gone, but maybe the kindness from strangers will help, Richard said.

"She'd be proud to know her kid's in good hands," he said.

Jayden has already received more than 100 gifts and more are on the way after Christmas, Richard said.