WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP — Thanksgiving will forever be a source of sadness for the family of Brandon Harris after the 28-year-old father was shot and killed in Winston-Salem in 2013.
Officers say it happened on Nov. 28 around 8 p.m. in the 1400 block of Fitch Street. Harris’s daughter Nevaeh was 4 years old at the time.
“The way people talk about him, it sounds like he would have been a cool person,” the 14-year-old said on the 10-year anniversary of her father’s death.
Officers say Harris drove a short distance after the shooting before stopping and yelling for help.
“We know there were more witnesses or even a co-conspirator or someone that was there,” Sergeant Jake Swaim of the Winston-Salem Police Department said.
Swaim went on to say evidence suggested Harris was robbed. For Nevaeh, however, what was really taken is the relationship she could have had with her father.
“I just want to have that real feeling,” she said of a father-daughter bond.
Having turned 4 years old about a month before Harris’ death, Nevaeh says her memories of him are limited, and much of what she knows about him has been told to her by remaining family members.
While much is left to her imagination, there is the reality she lives with the daily worry of being alone.
“Scared because I don’t want to lose my mom,” she said. “Because … then what?”
With advancements in technology, Swaim remains optimistic the case can be solved.
“This was ten years ago. It’s time to come forward,” he said. “If you think you’ve called or you have information, just share it with us.”
As for Nevaeh, she’s forced to navigate her life knowing whoever took her father’s has been allowed to live theirs.
“It’s selfish when you take other peoples’ life,” she said. “You don’t think about what they’ve got going on … their family.”
Information to anonymously submit a tip to Crime Stoppers can be found here.