Woman saved grandkids before she was killed at funeral home, family says
She was the “best Mimi in the world” to two grandchildren. Ina Chambers always said she didn’t play favorites, but she had a special bond with her oldest granddaughter.
“That was Brooklyn’s best friend,” Jamya Cooper told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “If you saw my mom, you saw Brooklyn.”
When the doting grandmother heard gunshots Friday evening outside Gus Thornhill’s Funeral Home in East Point, she immediately pushed her grandkids, ages 5 and 1, and others to safety. Moments later, Chambers was shot to death, her family said.
“She protected them. She pushed them out of the way,” Cooper said. “She turned her back and shielded herself for them. They fell down. But they’re perfectly fine.”
But Cooper soon realized her mother wasn’t getting up. She had been shot and died before help could arrive, her daughter said. Chambers celebrated her 55th birthday in November.
Another woman, whose name was not released, was treated at the scene for minor injuries, police said.
On Monday, East Point Police Chief Shawn Buchanan, who has served with the department for more than 27 years, told the AJC he does not believe Chambers was the target. But detectives have not determined a possible motive, and the case remains under investigation.
Buchanan had one word to describe those responsible for the shooting: cowardly.
“Since I’ve been policing, I’ve never seen such cowardly acts of violence. And this was a coward who did this,” Buchanan said during a news conference Saturday. “This is a sacred place and a borrowed opportunity to attack someone. They’re suffering, and they are trying to bury their loved ones, and for someone to take that opportunity away from them and destroy their peace is cowardly.”
Cooper said her family was at the funeral home for a visitation for her paternal grandmother. Her mother and father had met as children and remained close, though Chambers had later remarried, Cooper said. Chambers wanted to be there to pay her respects.
Cooper said several visitations were taking place at the funeral home, and she and her family stepped outside. Moments later, the gunshots started.
“Come on, y’all! Come on y’all!” Cooper said someone screamed, warning people to get inside.
Cooper said she remembers seeing two people with guns outside a car that pulled into the parking lot and quickly left. She can’t imagine why anyone would shoot at a funeral home, but Cooper said she doesn’t believe her mother was targeted. Chambers simply had no time to get out of the way.
Funeral home employees called 911, and moments later, East Point officers and firefighters were at the scene, the funeral home said in a statement posted on its website.
“We have full faith and trust in law enforcement and are fully cooperating with their ongoing investigation as they work to determine the circumstances surrounding this incident,” the funeral home said. “The safety and well-being of our guests and staff remain our highest priority.”
Gus Thornhill’s has served the community for more than 40 years, according to its website. The funeral home was founded by East Point’s first African American police officer, who spent more than 25 years in law enforcement before retiring in 1990.
Buchanan said there had never been this type of violence reported at the funeral home, and he said his officers will find those responsible.
“We will find these individuals, I can assure you of that, and we will bring them to justice,” the chief said Saturday. “That’s my word. And that’s my department’s word. We will not tolerate this kind of behavior in the community. Point blank, period.”
The funeral for her grandmother was held at a church Saturday, and Cooper attended, still shocked from losing her mother hours earlier. Now, she and her family must plan another funeral.
In addition to her daughter and two grandchildren, Chambers is survived by her husband, a stepson and other relatives and friends. She will be remembered for being full of life and full of love for her family.
Cooper said she knows Brooklyn will never forget her grandmother. But she worries her 1-year-old son won’t remember Chambers, though she will have plenty to tell him as he gets older.
“He got to experience the best Mimi in this world,” Cooper said. “The Mimi that went above and beyond for him. She loved her grandkids.”
