Mother of 8 fatally shot, family remembers her as loving woman who would do anything for her kids

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — A newly-married mother to eight kids was shot to death in Algiers on Monday. Family and friends say 32-year-old Delshawnique Taylor-Fluker is the last person they would’ve expected this to happen to.

“Always has a smile on her face, her nickname is Goosey you know that’s just who she was goofy, fun, vibrant,” said Geni Navarro, Taylor-Fluker’s cousin.

She was all of that and more. Her kids range from six weeks to 14 years old.

The family says she was living out her dream—being a mother.

“They’re all like the spitting image of her,” said her cousin, Kendria Black. “It’s so hard to look at them and know they will never get to truly know how beautiful and lovely of a person she was.”

But, Taylor-Fluker’s life was cut short. On Monday, she was fatally shot at the intersection of General Meyer and Behrman Avenue.

“This doesn’t happen to our family, not guns and everything, we are not a violent family,” said Taylor-Fluker’s aunt, Fay Lewis.

Yvette Thierry has been friends with Taylor-Fluker’s mom for decades. Her granddaughter was killed in a triple homicide in March off Encampment Street. She says this situation is bringing back all those terrible feelings.

“I feel so numb, I feel so broken. Your kid is supposed to bury you, you’re not supposed to bury your kid,” said Thierry.

Family members say Taylor-Fluker was one of a kind. She was loyal, feisty, and always grinning.

All are heartbroken not only by the loss of their loved one, but knowing her kids will grow up without their mother.

“To not have your mother, the person you’re supposed to be able to turn to, go to at any given moment.. some of these kids will never be able to experience it,” said Navarro. “You didn’t deserve this, like you didn’t deserve to go out like this.”