A Fort Worth family says their 16-year-old son was accidentally shot and killed this week by a 14-year-old who was playing with a gun.
Damariion Henton leaves behind six siblings and a mother who is also fighting cancer.
Henton’s mother Ashley Lemmons told NBC 5 that the 16-year-old Polytechnic High School student stood out for all the right reasons.
“Teachers would always say ‘I want to reproduce him,’ because of the fact that he was just such a good child,” said Lemmons. “He never gave me any trouble.”
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On Tuesday night, Ashley Lemmons hugged her son and watched him leave for his girlfriend’s house.
Hours later, she was woken up by a call.
“His girlfriend’s mother was saying, ‘your son is gone,’” said Lemmons. “And I’m just like, what do you mean gone?”
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Lemmons arrived to the home on Avenue L, seeing it surrounded by Fort Worth police.
Her daughter had also been at the home and told her mother what she’d witnessed: the 14-year-old brother of Henton’s girlfriend had been playing with a gun, and accidentally shot Henton in the neck.
“Words can never describe how I feel,” said Lemmons. “I cry in waves.”
Damariion Henton died at the scene.
In a statement about the incident released on Tuesday, Fort Worth police said, "Detectives found that the suspect was handling a handgun and the weapon discharged striking the victim."
"Medical personnel attempted life-saving measures on the victim but he was pronounced deceased on the scene," the statement continued. "The suspect has been identified and is being interviewed by detectives. No arrests have been made at this time."
His mother said in the days since Henton's death, her grief has been overwhelming.
“And then I’m just thinking like, I should have hugged him a little tighter,” said Lemmons. “I should have just hugged him a little bit more.”
As she tries to think about how she’ll remember her son, she’s also facing another battle.
“I’m dealing with cancer,” said Lemmons. “And financially, it’s hard.”
Lemmons said she was already struggling to pay for medication in a fight for her life. Now, she finds herself wondering how she’ll afford to bury her child.
“I’m a single parent, I don’t get any type of child support, so I’m doing everything by myself,” said Lemmons. “I work 16 hours a day.”
Henton’s mother said her son’s death showed a need for young people to stop playing with deadly weapons.
She told NBC 5 that she forgives the teen who accidentally shot Henton – but she was conflicted about whether he should be charged.
“I do feel like he does need to be responsible to have some type of responsibility for my son’s death,” said Lemmons. “But I also want him to come back from it.”
NBC 5 reached out to Fort Worth police to ask if any charges would be filed in this case. Investigators said that because the suspect was a juvenile, they were limited in sharing information.
