Sebastian Maldonado never thought he would have to worry about one of his best friend’s souls.
He described his long-time friend and neighbor Geddy Kramer as a happy-go-lucky guy, who liked fishing and long walks and was occasionally the class clown at North Cobb High School.
He never saw him depressed, moody or angry. He certainly didn’t see him as someone who would wound six people with a shotgun at his workplace as Kramer, 19, did Tuesday at a Kennesaw FedEx facility. Kramer later turned the shotgun on himself, taking his own life.
The last time Maldonado saw him was Sunday in their Acworth neighborhood when they exchanged waves and grins. That was the norm, he said.
“He was a happy guy, he always had a smile, he never looked down in the dumps,” said Maldonado, 19, Wednesday. “He always lightened the mood, no matter what.”
“He presented himself well. He was a good guy.”
Maldonado said he skipped a final exam at Reinhardt College in Cherokee County today because the shootings and his friend’s suicide have left him depressed and confused.
He never knew Kramer to have an interest in guns or to shoot them. He knew his friend thought he should earn more money for the long hours he put in at FedEx and he never heard him utter a bad word about his employer or coworkers.
Maldonado doesn’t want him remembered as “the FedEx shooter” and voiced irritation at former classmates who were describing Kramer that way on Twitter.
“Yesterday I was just in shock. I had a pain in my heart,” said Maldonado, a regular churchgoer. “I’m worried about his soul; about him going to hell.”
“I prayed for him last night.”
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