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Nai’Asalyn Lasha Brown

Age 18

Franklin, Louisiana

Nursing degree unfinished, child never born

She was months away from being a mom.

At nearly 19 years old, she had moved out of her mom’s house and was working toward her lifelong dream of moving to Texas. At the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, she was taking classes to complete her nursing degree. “She was your average teen,” a family member remembered. “She liked to dress up, to do hair and makeup.”

Around 10:14 a.m. on July 17, 2018, a shot rang out from her boyfriend’s gun in a home in Glencoe, Louisiana, killing Nai’Asalyn Lasha Brown, 18, and her unborn child.

By Elizabeth Meisenzahl · Age 17
Meet the Reporters

More than 60 young parents

Carnandez A. Davis

New family never to be whole

Steven Alexander Jr.

He missed his first Father’s Day

Elijah Michael Naranjo

Honor student with plans to enlist

Kyle McGowan

Without him, loved ones aren’t whole

Joshua Wright

He left behind a newborn son

Luis Flores-Bravo

Hardworking father, planning for the future

Ricardo Del Moro

He wanted to protect our borders

Ricky Lamar Green Jr.

His children never saw him box

Gage Allan Kiser

He will never meet his child

LaMar De’Shawn Foster

Son will live without his father

James Williams

"Goofy" teen liked to dance in public

Doumba Sannoh

Fatal price for the American dream

Jamar Harris

Shots rang out, two were dead

Chicano Kobe Phillips

A momma’s boy and young father

Aiyonna Clarice Barrett

Her unborn child died with her

Des'mon Reyshard Anderson

His baby lost her loving dad

Dex Moore

Death of child leaves baby fatherless

Jaquincy Jawan Ross

Wanted to buy her a scooter

Dwight Manning

A child left without a father

Raydale Hill

Can no longer create his music