A 19-year-old girl died after she was fatally shot in the chest while sleeping on the couch at her family home.

Uni sophomore Khia Shields was struck at least once by gunfire at her home in Wrens, in the US State of Georgia at around 1:10am on 26th August.

Paramedics rendered first-aid and Khia was taken to Augusta University for treatment where she died of her injuries shortly after.

Investigators are currently seeking the public’s help in identifying Khia’s killer.

After being woken up by the gunshot wound, Khia went searching for her mother, Shareka Pitts, who slept in the next room.

Shocked Shareka told local media: “She walks in my room. I’m up, looking…she’s looking at me, I’m looking at her. She had her hands held out like, ‘Mummy, mummy, I’m shot’.”

The grief-stricken mum continued: “She was just a normal teenager.

“Everybody loved Khia.

“She was just this warm person, and they just took her away from me. Never in a million years had I thought that I would be woken up with her saying she was shot, never.”

Shareka grew up on the street where the fatal shooting occurred.

She said: “It’s very quiet neighbourhood.

“I’ve been here for 41 years and never had this issue.”

Khia had just turned 19 days before she was killed. The education student had hoped to one day become a teacher.

Her mother said: “Little kids always latched on to her. For some reason, all the kids that she was around, and like her godson, even her cousins, she was just that person that they would latch to – that they would connect with.”

Investigator Patrick Morgan told local media: “It appears to us that this is some type of gang associated violence that’s going on.

“We’re trying to get a handle on that and conduct several investigations that date back a couple of months that we think are all tied to the incidents that have taken place recently.”

The slain girl’s mother is now rallying against gun violence in hopes of preventing any more unnecessary deaths.

Shareka told local media: “Just put the guns down, just put the guns down.

“We have to come together as one and as a community and stop this gun violence because it’s getting out of hand, especially for Jefferson County.”

She added: “I’m going to keep her name alive.

“I’m gonna keep speaking on her until we can come up with a solution to stop gun violence.”

The distraught mother told how Khia was a “spirited, beautiful young lady” who was taken away from her too soon.

She added: “She will be missed. She was my only child. My only child.”

The investigation is ongoing.