Community Mourns Murdered Girlfriend

The grieving mother of Shanae Howard spoke softly about her daughter as a group gathered in a Montclair park Tuesday night for a candlelight vigil in her memory. 

"She loved people. She'd give you the shirt off her back," Errica Howard-Rush of Orange said. "She didn't deserve this."

Shanae Howard, a 24-year-old from Orange, was with her 26-year-old boyfriend Brandon Brown of Montclair on May 16 when Brown shot her multiple times before turning the gun on himself and taking his own life. 

The two had only been dating about nine months and were found dead in Canterbury Park lying near a bench across from a playground.

Howard was studying psychology, her mother said. She was deeply spiritual and involved with her church. She liked to make people laugh.

"She was trying to leave him alone," Howard's mother said, "he just couldn't deal with it." 

Less than a week after the shootings, three dozen people held purple candles in memory of Howard, a daughter, a sister, a friend, and another woman to fall victim to domestic violence. 

The vigil was organized by Cynthia Walker of S.O.F.I.A., an advocacy group for victims of domestic violence based in Montclair.

Walker offered her condolences to Howard's family and invited faith leaders present to share uplifting words.  

One minister asked the circle of people to reach out and touch one another as a symbol of the need for a community to care for its members.

"If you touch someone lightly, you might make a difference," he said. "Spread the word that we need to help one another. Spread the word that we need to stop domestic violence."

Following the vigil, many participants walked to the Montclair Fire Department where a councilwoman was leading a community meeting in reaction to the shootings.