Mother mourns daughter, 17, shot to death in Homewood: ‘She was so special'

PITTSBURGH — A mother in mourning after her 17-year-old daughter was shot to death Saturday while walking in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood spoke exclusively with Channel 11’s Brittny McGraw Tuesday night.

• RELATED: Police say shooting of girl, 17, in Homewood 'not random'

“She was so special. She had a beautiful voice,” Serena McCall said. “She shouldn’t have been taken so soon.”

Officials said Daija McCall was shot Saturday afternoon as she walked down the street at the intersection of Mount Vernon and Blemar streets.

Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Sonya Toler said McCall died at the scene around 3 p.m. Saturday. Officials said Shot Spotter detected at least 11 gunshots.

In July, Daija herself was in mourning after her 6-year-old cousin Isis Allen was shot and killed.

"I watched them take their first breath. And to watch your child take their last breath, that's so hard for a parent. That's so hard,” Daija mother, Serena McCall, told McGraw.

• WATCH: Raw video of Brittny McGraw's interview with Daija McCall (PART I) (PART II)

Serena McCall said she’s not just taking things day-by-day but second-by-second to help her cope with the death of her daughter.

"I always said my heart goes out to any parent that lost a child, and I just never wanted to lose one of mine,” she said.

Serena McCall said her daughter always had a song to sing.

"Every day my baby was doing something with music. Books and books. I got books and books that girl wrote a million songs and poems and raps,” she said.

Serena McCall told McGraw she has no idea who could have wanted to hurt her daughter because she said Daija didn’t have a mean bone in her body.

"Her heart was just so big, and she wanted to help everybody she came in contact with. She just always had something positive to say to somebody,” she said.

Pittsburgh police said Monday that they don’t think Daija’s shooting death was random.

Serena McCall said she just hopes something positive can come from her daughter’s death.

"Maybe this senseless, ignorant crime can help some kids. That she didn't lay down and die for nothing,” she said.

As of Tuesday, police had not identified any possible suspects in Daija’s death.

Cox Media Group