CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — Loved ones gathered Saturday evening to honor the life of a Clayton County 18-year-old young man who was shot and left to die on a porch.
Jeremiah Patterson's mother says she is still trying to come to grips with her son's tragedy.
She said Patterson is the person Clayton County police found lying face in front of a home on Richard Road in Conley Tuesday night. Authorities have not made an arrest in the case or shared details of a suspect.
To honor his life, family and friends hosted a celebration of life in the form of a barbecue. Loved ones played music and put up balloons and decor in his favorite colors black and green before the event to a more solemn tone, becoming a vigil.
Patterson's mother, who did not want to be identified, said her son had plans to join the U.S. Army and serve his country. She said Saturday's events were to prove her son is not just part of a statistic.
"I'm crying, and crying, and grieving because this has never happened to me before," she said. "I love my son. We're going to get through it. He had a big heart, so I'm looking at him as a hero."