A year after the shooting death of her son Jamar Hawkins, Wynona Hawkins-Harper, of Penn Hills, is still searching for justice and closure. Recently, on Nov. 14, Hawkins-Harper, along with her granddaughters, Kymari King and Kamylle King, and their mother Kyra King, held a memorial at his Homewood Cemetery plot to celebrate their lost loved one’s memory.
“It has been very tough for me to even make it some days due to the fact that he is not present; he was a major part of my life. This past year has been a growing and learning experience due to the fact that this pain is just so great in my heart. I never knew how ugly people were in their hearts and soul towards one another,” Hawkins-Harper said of the year she’s been through since her son’s passing. “It’s hard to see his kids suffer; missing their dad. But we hold on as a family to make it through.”
Hawkins, then 31, was killed Nov. 13, 2013 near the intersection of Saltsburg and Leechburg Roads, in Penn Hills, after an altercation that took place at a nearby grocery store. According to Hawkins-Harper and other reports, Hawkins, who had stopped at the Rodi Road Giant Eagle after work with his girlfriend and half-brother, got into a verbal altercation with another male. The male then went to his truck and waited for Hawkins to exit the store. Once Hawkins left, the truck followed the vehicle he was in and shot him minutes later while he was at a stoplight. His girlfriend drove him to UPMC East in Monroeville where he later died.
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