INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis mother is being taken off life support at IU Health Methodist Hospital after IMPD says her boyfriend shot her in the head.
Britney Long's family said Saturday's shooting in the 2900 block of North Euclid Avenue, near Massachusetts Avenue and North Sherman Drive, was the heartbreaking culmination of a fear they'd had for years — a volatile relationship, turning deadly.
The loss of Long — a caring, joyful young mom of four — has gutted her close-knit family.
"She brought joy to everyone. Now, my sister's not coming back. She doesn't get to hug any one of her kids now," said Long's sister, Breonna Hill. "She can't give them kisses, tell them it's going to be OK."
Long's family said she was shot in the head and suffered an unsurvivable catastrophic brain injury.
Police arrested her boyfriend, 32-year-old Jomal Tyler, for his alleged role in the shooting. Prosecutors formally charged Tyler with criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon. His initial hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 10.
"All I hear is, 'Breonna, get up. Your sister was just shot,'" Hill said.
"And the first emotion of course, was anger," said Long's mom, Barbara Abdullai.
According to court documents, Long was shot just after 1 a.m. Jan. 6 while lying in bed. Her four children, all under the age of 7, were asleep in the next room.
They'd just celebrated one of the children's birthdays earlier in the day.
Court documents say Tyler called 911, claiming, "the gun just went off" accidentally when he heard a commotion at a side door and jumped up out of bed.
Then, court documents say he told dispatchers he was going to prison.
Detectives said they found blood on his clothes and in his SUV, which was still running outside the home.
"We don't think it was an accident," Hill said. "He's been very violent with our sister."
Court documents say one of the children reported DCS has been to the home before for domestic violence. Long's family said they've witnessed a pattern of danger.
"A couple weeks prior, he had blacked Britney's eyes," Abdullai said.
"He would blatantly say right in front of us that he would kill her," Hill said. "I feel like Britney realized that it wasn't OK, and then, when she started to do what she needed to do to get away, it was too ... she was too far in."
Now, the family is mourning their loved one, the lifetime loss for her children and sharing a message for anyone in a violent relationship.
"Don't underestimate your situation. Don't let it get to the point where you're trapped," Abdullai said. "Don't wait until you get enough money. There's programs. There's resources. There are people who will help you and stand up for you and help you get out of that situation."
"You've got other things to live for. There are other people that can show you the love that you need and deserve," Hill said.
Britney Long is still giving back to others, even after her death, as an organ donor.
Doctors said she will save eight lives.
