‘Heart of gold:’ 16-year-old DeKalb County boy murdered days before his birthday
A 16-year-old boy is dead and DeKalb County police say his friend is the prime suspect in the case.
On Tuesday, family members identified the victim as 16-year-old Ashton Nicholas Moon.
“It hurts me because I saw him being born, but we ask for prayers, we do,” said family friend Kennsha Wilcox. Channel 2’s Audrey Washington on Tuesday. “It’s sad. We have lost a young person.”
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DeKalb County police said shortly after 6 p.m. Monday evening they went to the Oak Forest Apartments on Hatton Drive and found Ashton Moon with a gunshot wound to the torso. He later died in hospital.
The police have arrested a person. They said the suspect knew the victim.
Moon’s family told Washington the suspect was an old friend of the teen.
‘He was a good young man. He had a heart. He had a heart of gold,” said Ashton Moon’s grandmother.
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It is still unclear what led to the shooting.
“As far as I understand it, I don’t know the details. It was a misunderstanding,” Wilcox said. “We have to find something for our young people to do. It is a lot of crime, unnecessary crime.”
Moon’s grandmother said although heartbroken, she is at peace knowing her grandson is in a better place.
“And I know he’s resting. One day we all have to leave this world, but I’m going to miss Ashton,” she said.
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