Tamera Mowry-Housley and her husband Adam Housley are remembering their late niece just 15 days after she was killed in the mass shooting in Thousand Oaks, California.
On Thanksgiving Day, the former Fox News correspondent took to Instagram to pay tribute to 18-year-old Alaina Housley, who was among the victims of the shooting at Borderline Bar on Nov. 7. Sharing an image from a previous Thanksgiving, in which Alaina was present, he reflected on her loss.
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“Never thought we’d be here. Never thought we’d be together in this way,” he wrote. “The hurt has been eased a bit by the warmth. We stand with so many of you as #alainasvoice pushes us to make this world a better place.”
“We’ve always been that way, but now we have an angel…as do many of you.. fighting against violence of all types….hurting people of all walks,” he continued. “May your #thanksgiving be filled with warmth. Swipe for more pics #thehousleys #enough.”
Mowry-Housley, a co-host on The Real, also took a moment to remember Alaina, whom she had desperately searched for after news of the shooting broke.
“Missing you Lai Lai,” she wrote in a photo, the same as Housley’s, shared to her Instagram Stories, a hand-drawn heart placed over Alaina in the family portrait.
In a separate post, Mowry-Housley also thanked her husband for his support through this difficult time.
“Thankful for you and our family. You have been my rock. Thankful for your faith in God that inspires me to keep my faith,” she wrote. “Thank you for calming my nerves in the middle of the night. Thank you for loving me through it all. I love you. #happythanksgiving.”
Alaina had gone to Borderline Bar with a group of friends for college country night. After 27-year-old gunman Ian David Long opened fire, her suitemate put a desperate plea on Twitter seeking information on her whereabouts after she couldn’t get into contact with her, a post that Mowry-Housley eventually saw.
Hours later, on Nov. 8, the couple confirmed that Alaina had died, writing in a statement that their “hearts are broken. We just learned that our niece Alaina was one of the victims of last night’s shooting.” She was the youngest victim of the shooting.
Alaina, described by her family as “an incredible young woman with so much life ahead of her,” was laid to rest one week after her death, with family and friends paying tribute to her on social media.
