GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The mother of a teenager who was gunned down earlier this month is pleading for the person responsible to turn themselves in.
"Nothing will bring my son back, but we need closure," said Gloria Hernandez from her Grand Rapids home Monday. "Whoever did it doesn't deserve to be free."
Police say that Emanuel Hernandez, 15, was shot and killed in the parking lot of 1965 Prairie Parkway SW on Dec. 7. He was found inside a car and pronounced dead on scene.
"This is the hardest thing that a parent, a mother, could go through," Hernandez said.
Emanuel would have turned 16 years old on Dec. 29. He is survived by his parents and a younger sister, who his family says was his best friend. He is remembered for being a 'master of dad jokes.'
"He just wanted to see everybody laugh. He was always making jokes. Always. He had so much love," Hernandez said of her son.
Hernandez said not having answers has made an incredibly difficult grieving process even worse.
"This is not easy, and it's not getting any easier. The day they killed my son, they killed me too" Hernandez said.
Wyoming police say it's been a complex investigation with many different leads and tips.
Anyone with information that they believe would aid in the investigation is asked to call Wyoming's Department of Public Safety at (616) 530-7300 or the Silent Observer at (616) 774-2345 to remain anonymous.
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