Lesbian Couple Shot Point-Blank Protecting Pregnant Daughter

Residents of the Young Terrace community in Norfolk, Virginia are reeling after a mass shooting on November 3 left three women dead and two injured. Two of those killed were a lesbian couple who were gunned down after trying to save one of their daughters.

On Wednesday, Nicole Lovewine, 45, and her partner Detra Brown, 42, were hanging out with friends in their community after work. About a dozen children were playing as the adults gathered, according to The Virginia Pilot.

A car pulled up at around 6 P.M., according to a neighbor. Lovewine's pregnant 19-year-old daughter jumped out of the back seat, while a young man got out from the front passenger side seat.

Then the gunshots began.

The man shot the young woman in the shoulder as she left the car, according to local TV station WTKR. As Lovewine's daughter ran inside her home, Lovewine and Brown came to help her. Ziontay Brian Ricardo Palmer, 19, of Virginia Beach is accused of shooting the couple at point-blank range.

Palmer was reportedly dating Lovewine's daughter.

Two other women came to help including 44-year-old Sa'idah Costine and a 39-year-old neighbor. Palmer is also accused of shooting them and killing Costine.

The daughter and the 39-year-old were taken to the hospital. According to media reports, they are expected to recover.

The Virginia Pilot reported that Lovewine's young son ran over to his mother's body after she was shot and begged her to get up. In addition to her daughter and young son, Lovewine had two more sons.

Police have charged Palmer with three counts of second-degree murder, two counts of malicious wounding, and several firearm charges in connection to the shooting.

"That man, he put a stain on this family that can never be washed -- he hurt us to the core," Tina McPherson, Lovewine's sister, told the paper.

Lovewine and Brown had been together more than a decade, according to a local LGBTQ events planner, Tiffany Brooks. She told The Virginia Pilot, "They were always together."

"They loved to dance. That's what I really loved about them," Burt McManus, manager at 37th & Zen, a queer-friendly bar and grill in Norfolk, told WTKR. "They would love to come and sing karaoke. They came out every Wednesday, like our shrimp night. They were just a big part of our community."

"I can see them rushing to the scene, probably, even if it wasn't her daughter because that's who they were. If something's happening, they're going to go see what's up," she said.