Beloved father gunned down in Walmart parking lot of quiet Alabama community, as heartbroken wife reveals his final words

A beloved father was gunned down at a shopping center in a quiet Alabama community — with his heartbroken wife recalling his final words as he died by her side.

Stephen Morrow, 46, was shot in the parking lot of a Walmart in Sumiton — about 25 miles outside Birmingham — just before 9 p.m. on June 3, according to AL.com.

Morrow, a father of one, was rushed to UAB Hospital in Birmingham, where he was pronounced dead.

After his death, his wife, Kayla Morrow, said she was left “completely numb.”

“Every time I close my eyes all I can see is the scene happening. His last words to me were:.. ‘Kayla, I’m dying and I love you,'” she wrote on Facebook.

“This is the hardest thing I have ever had to witness. Elijah took it really hard. He’s doing okay at the moment. Seeing his little face wrecked me. Please continue praying for the Morrows.”

Morrow’s remains are being examined by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in Huntsville, police said.

The Sumiton Police Department announced Sunday that 18-year-old Timothy Braden Crawford has been arrested for Morrow’s murder.

Crawford is scheduled to appear in court June 9 for a bail hearing and June 16 for his preliminary hearing, WBMA reported.

Investigators have not said whether Morrow and Crawford knew each other before the shooting or what sparked the deadly encounter.

As investigators piece together what happened, the shooting has left the community shaken.

“It was just really scary, knowing that it happened right next door to where me and two of my coworkers were,” Tristan Pedraza, an employee at the Mexican restaurant Las Reyes 2 near where the shooting happened, told WBMA.

Pedraza said his manager’s wife witnessed the immediate aftermath of the shooting after she returned to the restaurant to get her phone.

“Our manager’s wife had left her phone so they were backing in to unlock the door to try to get her phone,” he told the outlet.

“When she opened her door, she heard two gunshots and saw the man collapse on the other side of the parking lot.”

Pedraza said violence like this is rare in the area — leaving those who work nearby searching for answers about what sparked the deadly shooting.

“It makes me wonder like always going through the person’s head to do what they did and knowing that it can happen at any given moment with anyone is definitely scary,” he said.

Morrow is remembered as a devoted husband and father who “loved to fish, he loved cars, and especially loved his son,” according to an online obituary.

He leaves behind his wife, Kayla, and son, Elijah, according to a GoFundMe set up to help the family cover funeral expenses.

“Recently, her world was turned upside down when her husband, Stephen, was tragically shot and passed away,” the page read.

“Kayla is now left to navigate life as a single parent, facing not only overwhelming grief but also the financial challenges that come with such a sudden loss.”