Family: 71-year-old great-grandmother killed trying to stop fight involving granddaughter

DC Police have not yet announced any arrests after a 71-year-old great grandmother was shot and killed Saturday evening while her family says she was trying to prevent a fight.

Sheila Lucas was killed and a nearby man was injured in the shooting, which happened on Savannah Street in Southeast Washington near a Giant grocery store. Police say they responded to the shooting around 7:53 p.m.

In addition to six children and four other children she became an adopted mother too, Lucas is survived by dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

“Who shoots a 71-year-old woman in the head who has nothing to do with all this?” said Lucas’s son Robert Alston. “We didn’t get a chance to say Mom we love you. We didn’t get a chance to say Mom we’ll see you later. We didn’t get that opportunity. Her life was taken from us.”

Family members say Lucas drove from her home to the Giant after her granddaughter had been attacked by two girls inside it. The family says she met her daughter and granddaughter outside of the store and was walking with them to their nearby home when the attackers returned.

“My mom tried to step in between to make sure that they didn’t fight,” Alston said. “A gunshot rang [out]. My mom gets hit in the head, and then she’s no longer here with us.”

The Metropolitan Police Department says Lucas was taken to the hospital and later pronounced dead. Another man nearby was shot also. His injuries were not life-threatening.

Monday afternoon police told ABC7 they did not yet have a suspect description or an arrest to announce.

Alston says his mother was known as someone who would do anything for her family, but could also give tough love when it was needed.

“She was going to give it to you straight,” he said. “But you knew what she was telling you, she told you because she loved you.”

Alston says the prayers and the love Lucas gave him as a single mother helped lead him to become a pastor. He says he recently spent three weeks preaching online for Thankful Baptist Church about forgiveness, so he wanted to send a message to whoever killed his mother.

“I forgive you. I release you. But for justice’s sake, please go turn yourself in,” he said. “We’re asking you if you have a heart – because we know you have a grandmother, we know you have a mother -- turn yourself in. Let justice prevail.”

MPD says there is a reward of up to $25,000 for anyone who gives information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.