GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — 15-year-old Amillier Penn was playing football with friends in the 400 block of Umatilla Street when he was fatally shot on June 2.
As police are still investigating to find those responsible, his family is reflecting on the kind person he was.
Bardha Kurti and her daughter Rina Lanning, Penn's cousins, said he came to their home for Memorial Day weekend and they never thought it would be the last time they saw him.
"I remember holding him when he was a baby," said Lanning. "He was a hard worker. He was saving up for driver's training, he was starting to learn how to drive. So it's just really sad to not see him finish that through."
Kurti and Lanning said Penn loved his family and cared for his mother, grandparents and sisters.
"It's gonna be hours or days to talk (about) how sweet and how nice (of a) kid he was," said Kurti.
They said Penn loved basketball and was excited for the next chapter of his life starting 11th grade.
"He was always home with his mom," said Lanning. "His mother deserves the truth. So does his sisters and stepdad and all of our whole family."
Penn's maternal family comes from Albania. Kurti and Lanning said they have a small but tight-knit family in the U.S., which Penn was a large part of.
Lanning said their family in Albania and different parts of Europe are "distraught."
"The mom, she already had a Disney trip booked," said Kurti. "Now she's being prepared to bury her son and it's just very sad."
Penn's family wants those responsible to come forward and to realize their actions have taken away an innocent life.
"Turn yourself in," said Kurti. "Make things easy for those who are involved and please don't hurt anybody else. We don't want nobody else to get hurt and no one, no other family to go through our pain."
"If you know anything, please say something, because nobody deserves to be killed and especially the way that he was killed. They've got to stop," said Kurti.
Anyone with information that may lead to finding those responsible for the shooting can contact Silent Observer at (616) 774-2345 or Grand Rapids Police.
The family has also launched a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral costs.
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