Family Reacts To Shooting Death Of Metro Mother

Police are investigating the motive behind a deadly shooting that took the life of a metro mother. Two teenagers were arrested on Monday and a third suspect is reportedly on the run.

Police found a critically injured 36-year-old Cherri Brooks around 4 a.m. in a room at the Relax Inn in northeast Oklahoma City. The victim’s mother Janet Brooks said she went to the scene at the motel to help her process the grief of losing her daughter.

“This is like five years ago, her healthy,” said Janet Brooks, victim’s mother.

Brooks held a photo taken of her daughter before unhealthy addictions took over her life. A life cut short at the age of 36.

“She had been shot twice in her stomach,” said Brooks. “Hit a vital organ and she bled to death.”

That was what turned the shooting at the motel near Northeast 23rd Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard into a murder investigation.

According to court papers, three people were caught on motel cameras leaving the victim's room. Two of the suspects left together in a black car. The same car was caught on Flock cameras in Edmond and was located at an Edmond home two hours after the deadly shooting. Police arrested 19-year-old Zaviare Swain and a 17-year-old at that home. Both face first-degree murder charges.

“The way my daughter’s life was taken, somebody’s else’s child is going to be taken in the form of the crime they committed,” said Brooks.

Brooks said one of the suspects was the same age as one of her granddaughters. One of three children and two grandchildren the victim left behind.

“Cherri is a wonderful mother, the best mother that she could be,” said Brooks. “She’s gonna really, truly be missed.”

Police have not identified the third suspect.

The victim's family has started a GoFundMe to help with the unexpected funeral costs.