Teonia Stokes was 22 years old, a student teacher at Kennesaw State University, and a young mother building a life for her family, 11 Alive reports.
She was raising a 2-year-old daughter and was pregnant with her second child, a baby boy she was expecting in April. Family members say she was already thinking about names and planning for the future she wanted for her children.
That future was cut short on Sunday (January 25), when Stokes was shot and killed in Monroe, Georgia.
Monroe police say Stokes was shot on Sunday night. Another man was also shot during the incident and survived. Stokes and her unborn son died as a result of the shooting.
Those closest to her describe Stokes — known as “T” — as loving, dependable, and deeply committed to the people in her life. She was one of four siblings and, according to her family, always showed up when someone needed her.
Stokes took pride in being a mother, relatives said, and that care extended into the classroom. As a student teacher, she worked with young children — a role her family says she was passionate about and took seriously.
Stokes was killed just two days before her birthday. Instead of celebrating her turning 23 on January 27, her family spent the day making funeral arrangements.
Family and friends gathered for a vigil at Friendship Park in Social Circle, her hometown, to honor both Stokes and her unborn son. Her mother was unable to attend after being hospitalized while helping plan the funeral, family members said.
On Tuesday (January 27), Monroe police announced, per 11 Alive, they had issued two warrants for 36-year-old Dorreous Brooks, charging him with murder and feticide in connection with the shooting. Authorities later confirmed Brooks was arrested in Barrow County.
As her family grieves, they say Stokes should be remembered not for how her life ended, but for the future she was working toward — as a mother, a teacher, and a young woman full of promise.
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