MACON, Ga. — Where shots were fired less than a day ago, a makeshift memorial now stands.
Four balloons float in the breeze, tied to a cinderblock on Mason Street, just off Pio Nono Avenue. Hakeem Flowers, 16, was killed in an empty lot here Monday night. That's according to the Bibb Sheriff's Office.
Flowers' friends, Christopher Solomon and Jadarrious Sears, remember Hakeem as a goofy kid who just wanted to have fun. They say he loved his mom and his family, and that he was working hard to finish high school early.
Solomon and Sears didn't want to go on camera, but they sent along some pictures: memories of the friends together and of Flowers and his family. They say he was a good son to his mom and a great friend.
Sears says they went to school together at Soar Academy, where Flowers was set to graduate early this coming school year. He says Flowers was determined to graduate so he could support his mom and newborn son.
His friends say they called him, "Little Red," and say he was just a goofy kid who wanted to have fun.
Dominique Johnson runs Cure Violence Macon, which tries to limit crime by setting people up with good jobs. Johnson says they try to stop violence before it starts. He says violence like this hurts because it's often preventable.
"I'm hurt because that's somebody's son, brother. A potential young man with a mission to give," Johnson said, "So not only am I hurt, I'm saddened. I'm distraught."
Johnson says his team meets daily to talk about ways to prevent gun violence.
"Some of the VIs, or those who work the program, come from the same life that they're trying to cure, so you have people on the ground who know about gun violence firsthand," Johnson said.
He says the program, based in Pleasant Hill, views gun violence as a disease that must be cured. Johnson hopes Cure Violence can expand soon to help other neighborhoods.
"I think we're gonna need everybody's help. All-hands-on-deck. It's not just a government problem. It's not just a neighborhood problem. We all have to come together," Johnson said.
The sheriff's office hasn't said what led up to the shooting. It's Macon's 30th homicide this year.
Kendrea Hubbard, 29, was arrested Tuesday. He's charged with Flowers' murder, aggravated assault and a weapons charge. They say Hubbard drove himself to the hospital after the shooting.
A 30-year-old woman was also shot. She received treatment at the hospital and was released.