EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — The mother of a young woman shot on the job at an East St. Louis McDonald's is mourning while she waits for police to find the killer.
The innocent McDonald's manager caught in the crossfire was identified as 23-year-old Dionna Samuel, who was shot multiple times while working in the drive-thru Monday night.
Samuel's mom, Angelia Johnson, said her daughter clocked in for her shift, and then a little over an hour later, it ended.
"The next time I see her will have to be at a funeral home. No goodbyes. No, nothing," Johnson said.
The shooting happened shortly after 7:30 p.m. on Monday at the restaurant, located at 588 N. 24th St. in the city's Central Business District.
On Wednesday afternoon, families lined the streets in East St. Louis to celebrate their children winning another state football championship. Right behind them, outside the restaurant, was Samuel's family, heartbroken over their loss.
"I feel there should be justice because she didn't deserve it," Johnson said.
Two days later, the restaurant is still closed.
This was Samuel's second job for the past seven years.
Samuel, her mom, and her brother worked together. During the day, Samuel worked at a local bank, and in the evening, she picked up shifts to work with her family.
"You want to see her; you want to talk and make sure she's okay. I just feel stupid standing here waiting on the text that, in real life, I know is not going to come. But I want her to know I love her," Johnson said.
Johnson said she and her son had just finished their shift before the gunfire started. That was the last time she saw her daughter alive.
"By the time I got home, I was receiving a call from one of the young ladies telling me Dionna had been shot," her mother said.
While Johnson doesn't know who was in the car, she believes Samuel's killer was looking for somebody else.
"I don't feel like she was the intended target, but evidently, they missed their target. They just pulled up, she interacted a little bit, talking to them and trying to see what they needed, and that was it," she said.
This is the second homicide to occur at the restaurant this year. In early May, one person was killed and another was hospitalized after an argument led to shots being fired both inside and outside of the store.
"My heart dropped, my heart stopped. It's just very, very tragic that these things are happening right here," said East St. Louis City Councilman Ryan Cason.
Cason said he's working with the police department to add more security.
"I've spoken with our police chief, Chief Kendall Perry, and he's assured me that we'll get more patrols out here. Hopefully, we have talks with the business owner to develop a better security plan to ensure everyone's safety, not just for this particular business but for all in the area, because these things shouldn't happen like this," Cason said.
Cason also believes Samuel was not the intended target.
"The police chief has been all over this, and he's made it his number one priority for the family to get justice," said Cason.
As the store manager, Johnson wants to see the violence end.
"I'm very angry, and the anger is really eating us up. Like I say, to know her is to love her. Everybody who met her in the drive-thru or when they came in loved her. All the regulars knew her, whether they were kids or older people. We haven't accepted it, and we just want justice," Johnson said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Illinois State Police said nobody had been arrested or charged in Samuel's murder.
"She was always smiling, and that was her thing. That's how I want her to be remembered, being happy with her McChicken, her frappe, and just enjoying life; that's what she did," Johnson said.
Illinois State Police is working with East St. Louis Police to solve the case.