NEW ORLEANS — “Nine pounds, six ounces. He was a very big baby,” said Sharon Varnado holding up her phone showing a baby picture of her son
For Varnado, her firstborn of two children, Shawn Brock, 46, is always on her mind.
“I think about him every day,” Varnado said. “I just think about the last time that I seen him and I always ask why.”
The last time she saw her son was January 25, 2021 at their Slidell home. They moved to the Northshore to escape what Varnado calls a crime problem where they lived in New Orleans. Brock told her he was going to shoot pool that night not far from home.
“The next thing I know, I get a call from his girlfriend screaming and hollering that Shawn was shot in the head,” Varnado said.
It happened in New Orleans. Varnado rushed to the hospital.
“I was on the Twin Span and I’ll never forget that night. It was foggy and I was like, ‘God, just get me through, just get me through.’ Before I got there, I got a phone call saying dead on arrival,” Varnado said.
When she got to the hospital Varnado says it just seemed unreal.
“I couldn’t even go in the back to see him because when he left, he had a smile on his face and that’s how I wanted to remember him,” Varnado said. “I didn’t want to go to the back to actually see him laying down with a bullet to the head.”
New Orleans police believe a shooting happened at The Willows Apartments near Crowder Boulevard and I-10. According to Crimestoppers, Brock, who had been shot, drove about a mile away before crashing on Salem Drive.
“It was one shot to the head, but the back windshield was all shattered,” Varnado said. “They had a couple of bullets on the side of the car.”
Crimestoppers president Darlene Cusanza says getting enough tips to solve the case hasn’t been easy.
“The hardest part is, for the families, they know information came in and could this be the person and it sort of hits a dead end,” Cusanza said.
Two years later, the case is still a dead end with no arrests and lots of unanswered questions. New Orleans police didn’t want to comment on the case because of potential leads.
“He was funny. He had a beautiful smile, beautiful handwriting,” Varnado said.
Varnado says a passion that started as a teenager made her son well-known in his community.
“He used to cut hair under the carport. He would just do people in the neighborhood and so when he graduated from high school, he wanted to go to barber school,” Varnado said.
After getting his license, Brock started cutting hair at different shops. His dream was to open his own. So, when he heard about an opportunity for an SBA loan during the COVID-19 pandemic, he applied.
“He got killed that Monday. Wednesday, the letter came in the mail to say he was approved for $50,000 to open up his own establishment,” Varnado said. “He never did get to see his dream.”
That dream that also included his only daughter, who, like his mom, is still adjusting to a life without him.
“Shawn is the one with the blue shirt,” said Varnado showing a childhood picture of her son.
After her Brock’s death, Varnado moved to Texas where her other son lives.
“I loved New Orleans, but it’s left a bitter taste in my mouth,” Varnado said.
She still makes visits back to the city and makes time to visit with her son at the cemetery.
“[I] just tell him that I think about him every day. I still love him. I’m trying to get justice,” said Varnado.
It’s a justice she prays will come soon, for a still painful reality.
“This is something that you will never be able to get over because you never expect to bury a child,” Varnado said.
Investigators have been looking at Brock’s phone records the night he was killed. His mom knows it may take some time but holds onto faith the case will be solved.
There is a $5,000 Crimestoppers reward in this case. All information to Crime Stoppers is anonymous. You can call Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.
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