COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Columbus family is mourning the loss of 13-year-old Kamarion Woody.
Police said Woody was found suffering from a gunshot wound on Thursday afternoon on the southeast side of Columbus.
He died early the next morning and police declared his death a murder. No suspects have been arrested.
Woody had just turned 13 a few days before his death. On Saturday, his family had planned to gather to celebrate his birthday.
Instead, they gathered for a vigil to mourn his death.
“I feel dead inside. He was only 13,” said Mia Woody, the boy’s mother. “Kamarion was a good kid.”
She said her son was outgoing, funny and loved to play basketball.
“He was really good,” said his 11-year-old cousin, Juelz. “Played basketball, played football. We were supposed to play for the same football team.”
Juelz said he will miss his cousin’s smile.
“I loved his smile and he was a good son,” he said.
The circumstances of the shooting remain under investigation but police said other teens are believed to be involved.
The family is pleading for anyone with answers to come forward.
“If you have any kind of inkling in your heart, you need to turn yourself in. Anybody who knows something, you need to turn yourself in or talk to somebody about it because this is not right,” said Kamarion’s grandmother, Rochelle Woody.