ATLANTA – A distraught mother says that all she wants is justice for her teenage son, who was shot and killed by two African-American security guards just minutes away from his home in metro Atlanta on Saturday night.
Candy Grimes, who insists her son was unarmed, wants police to arrest and prosecute the men who killed 18-year-old Ervin Jefferson. Officers have said that the killers are two private security guards.
WATCH THE LATEST IN THE ERVIN JEFFERSON SHOOTING
Jefferson’s family and friends claim that all he just trying to protect his family late Saturday night, before he was killed in cold blood.
Jefferson’s mother alleges that he ran outside their home on Pleasant Wood Drive, Dekalb County, Georgia, towards a crowd of people who had driven up in at least two cars, and were threatening his sister.
“We heard gunshots,” Candy Grimes said in an emotionally charged interview with WXIA, the NBC-affiliate in Atlanta, “I seen the dude in the green shirt shoot my son. I seen the guy, he had two hands, and he shot my son.”
Grimes said that, as soon as her son was shot, someone else drove a car into him. “By the time I got down there, the car was on top of my son. He was literally under the car.”
Jefferson suffered a gunshot wound to his chest and was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Jefferson was the father of a baby girl.
Police have confirmed he was gunned down by security guards from the Village at Wesley Chapel Apartments, located just down the road from Jefferson’s home. The shooters told police they left the apartment complex to check out a suspicious car at about 10:30 p.m, when they heard gunshot fire.
If, indeed, police confirm Jefferson was unarmed, then some may say the case has parallels to the tragic death of Trayvon Martin, who was shot and killed by self-appointed neighborhood watch captain, George Zimmerman.
There are still many unanswered questions regarding the Jefferson case, and DeKalb County Police Department said the investigation is on-going.
Authorities have released the following statement:
DeKalb Police responded to a Person Shot at the incident location. The responding officers located the victim suffering a gunshot wound to the torso. The victim was transported to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The on scene investigation revealed the victim was shot by security guards who were checking out a suspicious vehicle. The investigation is on-going at this time.
Follow Kunbi Tinuoye on Twitter at @Kunbiti
