Mother of man killed in shooting on I-85 leaving NC in search of peace

GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — A grieving mother says she’s moving nearly one year after her son was shot and killed on Interstate 85 in Gaston County.

Police are still looking for the person who shot 19-year-old Uriah McCree.

Christina Michaels lives a short drive from the spot where her son was killed. She has to pass it to take her other children to and from school, and she told Channel 9′s Ken Lemon every time she does, she hurts for the son she lost.

Michaels has decided to move, but said her fight isn’t over, even as she prepares go.

“I’m not going to let it go. I’m never going to let it go,” she said.

March 22 marks one year since Uriah McCree was shot and killed while driving on I-85 near Edgewood Road. For Michaels, it’s like it happened just yesterday.

“It feels like it happened every day of my life. It’s a nightmare that I wake up to every day,” she told Lemon. “He was my everything.”

The shooter, who was in another car, left. McCree’s passenger survived. But nothing will ever be the same for McCree’s family.

Pictures of McCree still hang on the living room wall. The images bring the family comfort.

Michaels read a handwritten letter from McCree’s little sister that reveals how hollow the home has become.

“‘We miss you,’” she read. “‘We wish you were here with us. Mom is sad.’”

The family believes Bessemer City police are making progress in the slow-moving investigation. Michaels believes they are closing in on a suspect, but she said it’s still hard to feel safe or peaceful there.

“For him to be murdered within a mile and half of my home -- mentally, I can’t do it anymore,” she said.

They have sold their home and bought a new one in another state. Michaels doesn’t want to say where or exactly when they’re leaving. But even at a distance, she wants justice.

“Justice looks like marching everybody that was involved... into that courthouse,” she said. “I’m not going to let his case or him be forgotten.”

She told Lemon she will be back the moment there is an arrest to personally see closure for her family and her son.

McCree’s family members said they may do something special to remember him a year after his death.

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