One week after he celebrated his son’s high school graduation, Freddie Richardson was preparing for something entirely unexpected: the teen’s funeral.
Trevon Richardson, an 18-year-old high school football standout, was killed on Memorial Day, just days after he walked across the stage to receive his diploma from Cedar Grove High School in Ellenwood.
“I’m going out to make funeral arrangements for my son,” Freddie Richardson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday. “I never thought I’d be doing that. I thought he would be making them for me someday.”
Richardson’s death is part of a tragic rash of shootings in metro Atlanta just as high school graduations have ended. In the past four days, at least four teens have been shot and killed. Two others have been injured.
With summer break just beginning, kids and teens will have more time on their hands, which can set the stage for more violence. Atlanta police have stepped up patrols.
“We go into a summertime mode because kids are out of school so we have extra patrols that we address in areas where kids like to hang out: Public parks. Apartment complexes. Convenience stores,” Atlanta Police Department Major Michael O’Connor told The AJC.
But he said that, so far, the shootings in APD’s jurisdictions have been “dispute-gone-wrong type situations.”
Related: 17-year-old shot in face at Union City gas station; police seek 2 people
Earlier: Two teens killed, one injured in South Fulton shooting
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“They’ve been isolated incidents, there’s not a pattern to them,” O’Connor said. “It’s difficult for us to prevent these types of incidents.”
For the families left behind, the deaths have turned what should have been a season of celebration into one of mourning.
Trevon Richardson had plans to attend Valdosta State University in the fall, where he hoped to continue playing football. But those plans were snuffed out Monday night, when he was fatally shot in the parking lot of The Life at Peppertree Circle apartments near Decatur.
“I preached to him over and over,” Nicole Richardson, the teen’s mother, told Channel 2 Action News. “Mind who you draw your attention to and who you’re with during that time out of school.”
Freddie Richardson said he planned to take the summer to get his son ready for the move away from home and into adulthood.
“My son, he was a good kid,” Freddie Richardson said. “It’s just unbelievable.”
Police have arrested Detavion McDay, 18, in connection with his death. McDay is being held in the DeKalb County jail on a murder charge.
Like Richardson, Joshua Torrance had recently graduated from high school.
Wednesday, barely five days after he received his diploma from The B.E.S.T. Academy in Atlanta, Torrance was shot in the back and killed at the southwest Atlanta apartment complex where he lived. The 18-year-old planned to go to Albany State University in the fall to study engineering or architecture, family members said.
Grant Antonio Payton, 16, had just started his first job at Chick-fil-A. Payton, of Riverdale, and his friend, 19-year-old Tyree Johnson of College Park, were killed early Tuesday at a home in the city of South Fulton after a fast food run, Payton’s mother told Channel 2. A 15-year-old boy survived the shooting and is hospitalized in stable condition. His name has not been released.
On Thursday, another shooting in Union City landed a 17-year-old in the hospital. Authorities believe the shooting, outside an Exxon gas station on Roosevelt Highway, was gang related. The victim, who has not yet been identified, was shot in the face and is in stable condition.
On Wednesday, hundreds gathered in Trevon Richardson’s Ellenwood neighborhood for a vigil in his honor. They held candles, released dozens of green balloons and shared their memories of him.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Freddie Richardson became emotional as he reflected on what the evening meant to his family.
“We’re looking for justice in this process,” Freddie Richardson said.
A DEADLY START TO SUMMER
Monday May 28:
Trevon Richardson, 18, had just graduated from Cedar Grove High School in Ellenwood. He was shot outside an apartment complex near Decatur
Tuesday, May 29:
Grant Antonio Payton, 16, of Riverdale, and Tyree Johnson, 19, of College Park, were shot in the city of South Fulton after a fast food run. A 15-year-old was in stable condition after surviving the shooting
Wednesday, May 30:
Joshua Torrance, 18, had graduated from B.E.S.T. Academy in Atlanta. He was shot and killed outside the Southwest Atlanta apartment complex where he lived
Thursday, May 31:
A 17-year-old was shot in the face outside a gas station in Union City. The teen, who has not yet been identified, is in stable condition at a local hospital.
