EDMONTON -- The last time Paulette Brown spoke with her son he was at the mall wanting to know what his family wanted for Christmas.

"I was driving so I couldn't think of what I wanted at the moment," said Brown about the phone conversation. "I told him maybe a small camera or something like that."

Brown feels horrible she never had the chance to say goodbye to her only son, Cameron Thomas, before he was gunned down outside a bar Nov. 11.

Around 3 a.m., Thomas, 26, was in the parking lot of the Boneyard Ale House at 34 Avenue and 92 Street when shots were fired.

He was pronounced dead by the time emergency officials arrived. No arrests have been made.

Police say a number of people were in the parking lot and witnessed the shooting. Some have come forward, but many more have yet to reveal what they saw that night.

Brown is now pleading with the public, hoping someone will provide the answers police need to move the case forward.
"It's very frustrating that somebody out there, they know something," Brown said. "It just breaks my heart, you know.
"They have taken someone very dear to me. He was my baby, my only child."

Homicide unit Staff Sgt. Dave Christoffel said Thomas was a patron at the pub that evening, but the shooting doesn't appear to be sparked by a conflict inside.

He believes the shooting wasn't random.

"It's been my experience that when firearms are involved, it's usually something that's not a spur of the moment, maybe a bit more planned out, making these tragedies a bit harder for us to get to the bottom of," Christoffel said, noting he's not aware of anything in Thomas' life that would raise a red flag.

"Somebody out there knows what happened and why. We need that person to step forward and contact the police with their information."

Brown said Thomas had two priorities in life -- family and friends -- and describes him as down to earth, full of life and a very happy young man who impacted people he met throughout his life.

Thomas was taking a hotel restaurant management course and aspired to be a chef.

"He didn't deserve to die this way," Brown said. "He was so young and just full of life. He had so much to accomplish in his life."