MACON, Ga. — With the death of 14-year-old Tre'mon Jarrell on Saturday, one Macon family has now lost two loved ones to gun violence.
Leroy Jarrell lost his grandson and also lost his daughter, Arika Jarell, to gun violence almost a decade ago.
"I can't take it no more. I can't take it. You know I don't want to lose another child," Leroy said.
Leroy lost Arika when she was 23 years old. She was known in Macon as "Lottie Dottie." Lottie was a local rapper her music served as motivation for many women.
"She was the type of young lady that inspired others to be their own boss," Leroy said.
She died after being shot during a robbery. Nine years later, her nephew Tre'mon, died from gun violence too.
It's a tragic connection. Leroy said he's tired of seeing in the community victimized by gun violence.
"We got to save them you know. We go to do more. We got to do more to save our kids. Again, I wouldn't want this to happen to anyone. We gonna use Tre'mon's death as the beginning of the end," Leroy demanded.
Leroy stays in Atlanta and said that it's scarier to live in Macon.
"A car pulled up. Had like seven little boys in it. The older one was probably about 18. All of them had on masks. All of them had guns, clips hanging out the side of them and 12, 13, 14. Most of these boys were just young boys and it shocked me like they were some little militia and I couldn’t believe it you know they actually scared me," Leroy said.
Tre'mon is Leroy's second grandchild.
"Tre'mon you know he was a good kid. You know he was kinda on the quiet side a little bit. You know he didn't cause no one no harm," Leroy said.
His first grandchild Tre'shaun is currently sitting at Macon's Youth Detention Center after law enforcement caught him with a gun.
"One week away from getting off probation and then he ended up getting himself messed up again. He knew he wasn't supposed to be having no gun anyway and he walking around carrying a gun because he's talking about some boys trying to kill him," Leroy said.
He says both his grandsons' and daughter's stories highlight a problem of gun violence in Macon that needs to change.
"It wasn't like I wasn't aware of the things that were going on but then you have to ask yourself what can you do to try to protect them and I just feel defenseless you know as far as being able to protect my kids," Leroy said.
MORE THAN A NUMBER
RELATED: More Than A Number: Family Form
More Than A Number is a Poynter-Stand Together award-winning project by Justin Baxley designed to help families of loved ones impacted by tragedy and trauma interact with journalists in a less intrusive way. Families are able to fill out a form about their family and also receive an in-depth guide on the next steps.
More Than A Number officially launched in August with a streaming special available on 13WMAZ+ for on-demand streaming. For any questions or concerns about More Than A Number, contact us here at the following email: MoreThanANumber@13wmaz.com.