HOUSTON — It’s been almost one week since 5-year-old Khamaya Donelson was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting in the Greenspoint area.
On the night of July 3, Khamaya's mother, Kristena Watters, was driving her two kids home from getting ice cream when the shooting happened.
As Watters was stopped at a stop sign, bullets flew from a silver 4-door 1999 Honda Accord that was speeding by. One bullet entered Watters' vehicle, striking Khamaya in the face and also hitting her son, 8-year-old Khamani Rice.
Khamaya died on the way to the hospital, but Khamani survived his injuries.
Police are still searching for the suspect.
KHOU 11's Anayeli Ruiz spoke with Watters about the tragic incident.
Watters said she doesn't even want to begin planning funeral arrangements for her daughter because she doesn't want to face the reality that she will be burying her little girl.
"t doesn’t feel like it’s been a week," she said. "It feels like it happened last night."
Watters says she is living her worst nightmare.
"I just want to hold my baby and play with her hair and tell her it's going to be OK," she said. "And it's not going to be OK cause she is not going home with me."
She said Khamaya died in her son's lap.
"My son doesn’t want to go home without his sister," she said.
Earlier this week, Houston police held a press conference over the shooting. Standing next to water at the conference was the mother of Arlene Alvarez. Arlene was a victim of gun violence in Houston earlier this year.
The tragic death of their children brought these mothers together.
"The fact that there is good people with good hearts like that they didn’t have to be there for me," said Watters. "But I felt like I needed to meet Wendy cause her daughter deserves justice too."
Even though Watters says she doesn't have the strength to keep fighting, she says she hears her daughter's voice telling her to keep going and to keep searching for some kind of justice.
"I want my baby, but if I can't have my baby, I don’t want to happen to anyone elses baby," she said.
Now, this grieving mother says all she has are beautiful memories and videos of her baby she will cherish forever.
"My baby was always happy. Loved dressing up, her accessories, she had to have at least ten bracelets," Watters said, remembering her daughter.
Crime Stoppers is offering a $25,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in this case. If you have any information, you can call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 713-222-8477.
The family has set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for the burial costs of her precious 5-year-old whose life was taken too soon.