KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City woman is remembering her sister’s final moments after she was shot by a stray bullet right in front of her.

Her older sister, Courtney Wickman, who was also the mother to a 4-year-old, later died.  

It’s a loss so difficult that putting it in to words is a challenge for Samantha Wickman. Her ride-or-die, her best friend was snatched from her right in front of her eyes after the two were out on the town in late October.  

“No one expects something so violent and cruel to happen right in front of you,” Samantha Wickman said.

Their bond was unshakable and their love for one another had already been tested after the trauma of losing their mom and older sister. But Samantha said that only made her sister better.

“She was really strong, and she was a great mom. She lived for her daughter Lana,” Samantha said.

Courtney was celebrating her 33rd birthday and was going home, leaving a Midtown Kansas City bar just before 10:30 p.m. They were rushing onto the elevator so they didn’t miss it. Seconds later, that soon wouldn’t matter. 

When they got outside, there was a commotion already going on. But the door was locked, and they couldn’t get back inside.

That’s when a woman in a dispute with security fired her gun.

“Courtney was right next to me, and she dropped,” Samantha said. “And I thought she did it on purpose, and I dropped, too. And I turned around and looked at her, and there was blood.”

What started as a celebration turned into a tragedy as Samantha wrapped her coat around her sister’s head, trying to save her life.  

“I just kept screaming, ‘I need her. I need her.’ She’s my sister,” she said.

Court documents say 21-year-old Katera Mayfield was being combative inside the bar. She had been kicked out, left and came back with a gun. Things escalated with several security guards before she fired a gun, prosecutors say.  

Mayfield later took her own life before she could be arrested.

Now, Samantha is not only an aunt to 4-year-old Lana but also stepping up as her mom, trying to still make the little girl smile in the midst of a tragedy that didn’t have to happen.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for the Wickman family.