Family mourns 28-year-old killed for being at the "wrong place, wrong time" in Dallas
A Houston family is mourning the death of a 28-year-old woman who was fatally shot in Downtown Dallas after the passenger of a Mercedes opened fire on her and another man who had briefly touched the vehicle, according to Dallas police.
"Something so senseless, just changed everybody's life forever," said Ashlee Long's mother, Michelle Long. "I feel dead inside. She was my everything."
It's been a little over a week since Michelle Long and her family laid her 28-year-old daughter to rest. The family said they're still in shock over never again getting to see her again.
"She was my only daughter. We would always say goodnight to each other every night. That's how it's been forever," said Henry Long, the victim's father.
Her family said Ashlee Long was a successful real estate agent from the Houston area and was in Dallas on April 5 for a networking trip.
"Wrong place, wrong time"
"A night out on the town and just being in the wrong place at the wrong time," Michelle Long said, trying to make sense of the tragedy.
In the arrest affidavit, Dallas police said one of the men Ashlee Long was with "reached out and brushed his hand along the passenger side of a passing Mercedes as they were walking across the street." It happened off Main Street in Downtown Dallas.
Investigators said that's when 34-year-old Kendrick Finch got out of the passenger side with a gun, and the man Ashlee Long was with pulled his gun out of her purse.
Finch then shot Ashlee Long and the man, police said. The man survived, but Ashlee Long died in the hospital from multiple gunshot wounds. Investigators said a nearby business captured the entire incident on video.
"It was heartbreaking when we got the call. There was nothing I could do. I was so far away," Michelle Long said.
"A nightmare I couldn't wake up from"
"It was like I was in a nightmare I couldn't wake up from," Henry Long said. "If she would have been there five minutes earlier, five minutes later, you know, things would be different."
Police searched for the suspect for days. Finch turned himself on April 18 and now faces murder charges.
As Ashlee Long's family waits for justice, they are holding on to her memory, even placing her picture at the spot where she was killed, along with the numbers "444," which were her lucky angel numbers.
"She liked to be the life of the party but not the center of attention. She loved life and having people around her," Henry Long said.
"There was never any kind of negativity between us. She was just kindhearted all the way around. She wanted everybody to be happy," Ashlee Long's brother, Kevin Marsalis said.
The family said they wish they had the chance to say goodbye.
"I love you and I miss you, baby girl," Michelle Long said. "I miss our time together, I miss hearing your voice."
Finch is currently being held in the Dallas County Jail on a $500,000 bond.
