The mother of a man who was shot to death in west-end Halifax in July says she's "ecstatic" that charges have been laid.

Triston Reece, 19, died early on July 27 after being shot on Scot Street the previous evening.

Police announced on Friday that Kaz Henry Cox, 40, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

Reece's mother, Dale Russell, said she's been waiting for news of charges since her son died.

"Basically every day you get up and it's like it's the same day. The days change, but they don't. I've just been praying and hoping for yesterday to happen and it finally did come to pass.

Triston Reece, 19, was shot in west-end Halifax on Friday, July 26, 2019. He died of his wounds shortly after midnight. (Mairin Prentiss/CBC)

"I'm very grateful that I, you know, I'm getting this justice because there are so many mothers that are still waiting to find out what happened to their children. So I pray for them and I pray that they get the same justice I did because it's an amazing feeling."

Russell said she hopes Cox pleads guilty so she will be spared the agony of a trial, but if one must be held, she will sit through it.

"A trial is traumatic in and of itself. I've already had a trauma. I don't need another one."

She said she hopes the person responsible will serve the maximum penalty, which is a life sentence with the earliest parole eligibility at 25 years.

"I hope you rot in jail," she said. "It's not going to make me feel any better because I know nothing's going to bring my son back. But you do have to be held accountable for your actions."

Russell appealed to anyone who has any knowledge of the incident to speak with her or with police.

"When you have a guilty conscience, when you have stuff on your conscience that you're too scared to get off, it's only gonna eat at you. So if there's anything that anybody else knows, I pray that they come forward and just do the right thing."

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