DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - Ashton T. Gray was 24 years old when he was shot and killed Saturday night.
His mother, Jera Gentry, said that was the last day she hugged her son good-bye. Placed in front of her home were candles that spelled "RIP Ashton". It was from a vigil held in his memory on Sunday.
Gentry tried holding back tears while talking to WAND-TV.
"He was our boy," Gentry said. "He was my baby."Â
Knowing her son was murdered, Gentry expressed she's feeling an indescribable pain. To whoever shot her son, she said she did nothing to them. Gentry said people need to stop and think.Â
"You're taking a life for what?" she asked aloud.Â
Gentry said Gray was working on getting his life together. He recently acquired a job at a local Burger King and she said he was excited for the opportunity. Gray was learning the value of a dollar, how to budget his money better and how to improve his credit. His mother said he was maturing.
Gray was known as a 'go-getter'. Gentry said he had a tender heart and made people laugh. She expressed how he was making himself a better person.
Gray's death left a void that Gentry said will take some time to fill. One point she hoped to get across is ending gun violence in her community.
"Look at the person for who he was and know that life is gone now for something senseless," Gentry said.
The Decatur Police Department said Gray was found on East William Street with gunshot wounds to the torso. Investigators hope someone will call Crime Stoppers if they have information that can lead to an arrest.Â
