Grieving mother speaks out after 16-year-old son is killed inside Miami Gardens home
MIAMI GARDENS - A grieving mother is speaking out after she says her 16-year-old son was shot and killed by another teenager while playing video games last weekend inside Miami Gardens home.
The family said that home belonged to one of their relatives.
In an exclusive interview with CBS News Miami's Peter D'Oench, Latoya Taylor wept as she said she was overwhelmed by the loss of her oldest son, Savion Littles.
Showing us photos of him, she said, "He was everything to me. This person that took his life does not know that he took a part of my heart. I am never going to be the same. I am never going to be the same without my baby. I know I am going to wake up empty. My son would call me three or four times a day just to check up on me and mommy, "How was your day?"
She said her son transferred from Miramar High School to American High School two months ago to play football.
She said he had big dreams.
"All he talked about was going to Oregon State and he said 'When I make it, I am going to take care of you. He was not a bad child. He had good grades and a loving spirit."
Taylor said the teenager who shot her son was a friend of her family and actually called her on the phone after the incident.
She said, "I told him to do the right thing and turn himself. Do me and my family a favor. Do it for Savion. We are all broken. I want to say it was an accident and I don't want to say that he did it on purpose. I was told he pulled out a gun and pointed it at my son."
Taylor now has a message for youngsters about guns.
"I just want to say kids, gun violence. Please stop playing with guns.Not only are you taking someone else's life, but you are taking your life too. Parents are losing their kids," she said.
Taylor said, "Now I have to visit my baby at the grave. This was not God's plan. I am not supposed to bury my child. He was supposed to bury me. For someone to take his life at the age of 16, he is not going to go to a prom. He is not going to be able to graduate. I am empty. I am broken. I am never going to be the same. I am not going to be able to recover from this."
Miami Gardens Police told D'Oench that the investigation is ongoing.
A police source said two males fled from the house in the 4100 block of N.W. 191st Terrace.
A spokeswoman said, "Miami-Dade Fire Rescue pronounced the victim on the scene. Investigation continues."
Taylor said her family is trying to raise money for her son's burial expenses through a fund-raising website.