Memorial service for mum shot during night out

Dozens of people have gathered to pay tribute to a mother-of-one who was shot dead outside a Sheffield bar as she enjoyed a night out.

Police described 30-year-old Shanice Brookes as "an innocent bystander" after she was killed near the One Four One bar on West Street in the early hours of 25 May.

Two men have been charged in connection with her death, with another three men arrested and bailed over an altercation which took place immediately before Brookes was shot.

Earlier, her friends and family gathered at Sheffield Cathedral to celebrate her life. The congregation was welcomed to the service by the Dean of Sheffield, Abi Thompson, who also read the poem She's Gone, by David Harkings.

Among the music for the service was the song For Good, from the hit musical Wicked.

Brookes, who had a 10-year-old son, volunteered for the Sheffield community charity Zest and was about to finish a degree at Sheffield College.

Thompson said the day had been "a really sombre occasion".

"I could feel quite a lot of shock in the air still and people not really able to come to terms with what has happened," she said.

"Shanice had so much beauty and joy about her, she was a person who cared about other people and loved other people.

"As a community in Sheffield we need to get round [her] family and help them get through this. They have been amazingly strong but my goodness I don't know how they are doing it."

Pastor David Ussue from the Church of God of Prophecy on Duke Street in the Park Hill neighbourhood of the city said he knew Brookes' family.

He said they had wanted to celebrate her life while also mourning their loss.

"It really felt like a waste of life," he said of her death.

"As I spoke with her family I got the impression of a lovely woman, a giving woman, a beautiful woman inside and outside."

In a statement issued after her death, Brookes' family said: "She could light up every room she walked into with her infectious laugh, beautiful soul and magical aura.

"Shanice made people feel loved, safe and valued simply by being herself.

"She was truly one of a kind and she will be missed by all who were lucky enough to know and love her."

In another statement, Zest said Brookes was "a truly beautiful soul who touched so many lives within our Zest family and wider community".

Jemele Rhone has been charged with murder over Brookes's death. Rhone, of Outram Road, Sheffield, is also charged with possession of a handgun and possession of criminal property, namely £10,000.

Deiryen Dyce, of Ellesmere Road North, Sheffield, has been charged with assisting an offender, possession of ammunition, possession of heroin, cocaine and cannabis with intent to supply, and possession of criminal property, namely £2,000.

Both suspects are yet to enter a plea, with a provisional trial date for the pair set for 4 January 2027.

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North