HOUSTON — Thursday marks one year since the deadly shooting at PlazAmericas, the old Sharpstown Mall.
The shooting claimed the life of a San Jacinto County deputy. His widow, DeeDee Adams, told KHOU 11's Grace White that the last year has been a rollercoaster.
She's still serving as the San Jacinto County treasurer. Thursday, the county plans to declare it Neil Adams Day in honor of her late husband.
“It means a lot," she said. “He was a figure in this county and everybody loved him."
DeeDee still has the chair her husband would pull up to her desk every day for lunch.
“He sat right there and I sat right here," she said.
Neil Adams was killed on Feb. 23, 2022 at PlazAmericas. Houston police said he was shot by a suspect inside the mall who grabbed his service weapon.
Body camera video shows officers running in to confront the suspect, who was eventually shot by police.
DeeDee said she's since learned that her husband had two encounters with the man.
“They called him over once before on the same gentleman and I guess it got handled," she said. "And then they called him back the second time."
DeeDee said her husband grew up riding bikes near the old Sharpstown Mall but normally didn't work there. He had just picked up three extra job shifts days after his 62nd birthday.
“He said it was a pretty bad area and that he wasn’t going to sign up for that area and Wednesday was going to be his last day there," she said.
Becoming a cop was a dream he fulfilled later in life, DeeDee said.
He went through the academy at age 52 and served San Jacinto County for a decade before his death.
“It saddened him, the way things are changing towards officers," DeeDee said. "He talked about it quite often.”
But the father to three and grandfather to four focused on making others laugh. As time passes, that's what DeeDee said she wants people to remember about Neil.
“He was a great grandpa, a great dad, he was a great husband, he was a great son, he was a great brother, he was, to his core, a good guy,” she said.
A ceremony remembering Neil will be held at 1 p.m. at the San Jacinto County Courthouse on Thursday. Family, friends and law enforcement will gather to honor him.