BALTIMORE — It’s a phone call Andrea Queen will never forget.
Queen recalls her 15-year-old son’s girlfriend telling her he had been shot.
“She’s like, somebody just shot Jaileel. Somebody just shot Jaileel," Queen said.
Queen's son, Jaileel Jones, was shot on March 4, 2021.
“I’m still in shock,” she said. “I’m still in shock.”
The shooting happened in the 5100 block of Chalgrove Avenue. Jones died two days later in the hospital.
A 14-year-old was arrested in connection with the murder and is currently in jail.
“My world will never be the same,” Queen said.
A year later, Jones’ mother still can’t believe he’s gone.
“When I’m walking, I’m expecting to see him. I’m expecting to hear him,” she said. “I’m expecting him to come home and call my phone. Even though I know he is not coming back, I haven’t let go that he is really not coming back”
Queen describes her son as a kid with a giving heart who was full of potential.
“He was an usher at our church. He was on the youth ministry,” she said. “He met the mayor, the police commissioner he gave out food on thanksgiving and Christmas.”
Inspired by his kindness, Queen started a foundation called "Jaileel’s Helping Hand Foundation."
In his honor, she has made it her mission to give back to the community.
Since her son's death, Queen has held food and clothes giveaways for Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as a trunk-or-treat event on Halloween.
“It makes me feel even better to know that if he is here he would be right there with me,” Queen said.
Queen is also hoping to start a tutoring and mentoring program for the youth.
“Before the hate, before the guns, before the fighting, I want to get to them and love them and like and show them how to live and like themselves,” Queen said.
Jaileel has been with her every step of the way in this journey. She wears a bracelet that says 'Forever Jai' on her wrist.
Queen said this is what he would have wanted and she’s proud to be able to keep his name alive.
“This has been the hardest year of my life, but I’ve learned to turn my pain into a purpose,” she said.