MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The mother of the 15-year-old shot in the Hickory Hill area pleads for change after her son’s near-death experience.
“You just never wanna hear that your son has been shot,” said Asia Partee.
Her son was standing outside Sonic, along Kirby Parkway, when a group of people drove by and shot at him multiple times. He was taken to Le Bonehur Children’s Hospital in critical condition.
“It’s hard. I find myself just trying to find my mind sometimes because I’m just lost, just thinking about what could have happened to my baby,” said Partee.
Despite his injuries, Julian is expected to recover. Now, his mother is calling for more to be done to protect students, as he was shot feet away from a Shelby County school.
Partee said, “I feel like something needs to be done to protect the children at the school. You shouldn’t fear dying going to learn. You shouldn’t fear that, so something seriously needs to be done.”
Memphis Police say this was a targeted attack. While they have not released a motive, officers believe five people are responsible for the shooting and are actively searching for them.
As that continues, a family is left on edge.
“I’m really thinking about moving away from here. I don’t know if these people wanna kill him or they wanna come back and do something to him. I honestly just don’t know,” Partee said.
Yet another family in Memphis is left dealing with the impact of gun violence.
Partee said, “I feel like children should just be exposed to more positive things and they would really not do the violent things they are doing.”
WREG has reached out to the Memphis Shelby County School District for a response, but they have not responded. WREG will provide updates once they have.
If you know anything about Wednesday morning’s armed robbery incident, you are urged to call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH.