'She didn’t deserve this at all,' Friends remember victim of New Years shooting

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. --- Friends shared memories on Monday of Carrie Jamerson, the woman shot on New Year’s Day in South Bend.

“I’m hurt. I’m devastated. This was not supposed to happen,” said Timia Beard, Secretary of Savage Guardians.

Carrie Jamerson, 32, was shot just around 3 a.m. on Wednesday at the former Ripples Bar and Grill on Michigan St. The building is now known as a motorcycle club called Savage Guardians.

An autopsy conducted Monday morning confirmed that the cause of death was gunshot wound and the manner of death ruled a homicide.

Beard was a friend of Jamerson’s and was bar tending at Savage Guardians the night of the shooting.

Beard said everyone who enters the building is searched. Savage Guardians was charging a cover fee of $10 and security searched people who entered the night of the shooting, according to Beard.

“People came in that weren’t happy that they had to pay and be searched,” said Beard.

Security asked the group to leave because they had never been searched and did not pay the cover fee, according to Beard.

“Moments later there was gunfire,” said Beard.

Beard said Savage Guardians is a member-only club. The members often do events together as a group and proceeds go towards the community, helping children in particular, according to Beard.

On the first day of the New Year, unfamiliar faces were hanging out at the motorcycle club before shots rang out, according to Beard. Beard said it was never supposed to happen to her or in that building.

“That particular night she wanted to become a member and so like, I mean, she was a loving person,” said Beard. “She decorated the building that night with her own money, her own supplies.”

Janise Clark, a friend of Jamerson’s, lost her cousin after he was shot outside his home last year and said it breaks her heart to go through the pain again.

“She was a good person and it’s just sad that this happened to her,” said Clark. “She didn’t deserve this at all.”

Clark said the situation is especially difficult for Jamerson’s children.

“It’s heartbreaking because I have kids myself and I couldn’t imagine not being there for them,” said Clark. “They say that time heals all, but it truly doesn’t. It just numbs the pain, that’s all it does.”

A candlelight vigil and balloon release was held outside of Savage Guardians on Monday evening.

A taco night fundraiser will be held in memory of Jamerson’s on Thursday at 8 p.m. The event costs $10 at the door and will be held at 224 Monroe St. in South Bend, according to a Facebook post.

A GoFundMe page has been started for Jamerson’s family. If you are interested in donating, click here.

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