Young woman murdered in Surrey feared she'd die exactly how she did, grieving family says

Surrey murder victim hoped for better life The family of a young murder victim is sharing more about her life and her dreams for the future.

Vancouver — Shana Harris-Morris, 23, feared her life would end exactly how it did.

“I remember her talking to me, saying, ‘I’m afraid, Uncle Ryan. I’m afraid somebody’s going to shoot me,’” Ryan Morris told CTV News.

Shana was gunned down inside a Surrey home last week and later died in hospital. A man in the home was also shot but survived. Police have said they don’t yet know who the intended target was, and they have yet to catch the killer – or killers.

“Shana didn’t have any gang affiliations,” said her uncle. But he also says his niece “wasn’t in a very good lifestyle. She battled addictions. Shana had mental illnesses.”

Morris said Shana had started smoking cannabis and drinking by the time she was 11 or 12, and "ultimately got into using heroin and opioids.”

As a child, she was also in and out of foster care. Her uncle said there was a lack of assistance available to her family that he says was trying to help her.

“It just doesn’t seem that there’s the help or the resources available,” he said. "It’s let's pull the kids out of the family home, rather than let’s help the families. Let’s give them support. How do we get them through this?”

He says the time for change is now.

“There’s a lot of children who are suffering in addiction and they’re dying and I feel really compelled to find some answers and get help for them," Morris said.

Though Shana’s life ended violently, Morris likes to remember the Shana he knew.

He says she loved animals and had a hug for everyone.

“She just loved to hug," he said. "She just loved love."

He says they drifted apart as she became more entrenched in her addiction, but that she still dreamed of changing her life and going to college.

Since her death, he says he’s heard from many people who knew Shana.

“I had no idea how loved Shana was in the community,” an emotional Morris said.

“I’m just overwhelmed and I’m so grateful that they’ve reached out.”

Morris started a GoFundMe so the family can buy a tombstone and create a memorial bench.

He hopes people will know there was much more to Shana’s life than how she died.