MACON, Ga. — The poet Marinela Reka said, "Being a daddy's girl is like having permanent armor for the rest of your life." However, Carman Patterson and her siblings were robbed of that.
Their father, 42-year-old Nathaniel Fuller, was one of three killed in overnight shootings in Bibb County early Wednesday.
Just before 5:30 a.m., the Bibb County Sheriff's Office says someone shot him while he was driving down Eisenhower Parkway. Fuller then drove off the road into a backyard on Winston Drive where he was found dead.
Fuller's family called him a loving man who stayed out of trouble. They say he had a goofy and charismatic personality, and they don't understand why this happened.
It's a feeling that makes Patterson sick, so much so that the news of her father's death literally made her faint. She says she could always look forward to good times with her dad.
"All we have now is memories," Patterson said.
Her thoughts highlight their close bond.
"He was my favorite. He was my dad. When it comes to him they're like 'Carman you don't play about your dad'. I don't. I love him," she said.
He shared his love with his five daughters, but Carman thinks he favored one.
"I will say, I was his favorite," Carman said giggling to herself.
Thinking of her father, she's reminded of how he showed his love through her favorite memory.
"Graduating from high school, he was there — the loudest one," she said.
It was something she was looking forward to recreating next spring when she graduates from Valdosta State University.
"That's why I'm really hurt because he's not gonna be there. I've been working hard, trying to give him a better life, and now he's not gonna be able to see it. He's not even gonna be able to see it. It's so crazy," Patterson said.
However, her dad's image will still be alive in Carman.
"They think we look exactly alike, like we look just alike. You look, breathe, smell just like your dad, everything is just my dad," she said.
So moving forward, she'll hold on to the good times, trying to stay positive.
"There's no need for us as a family to get revenge, because God will always. What you do to others can be done to you," she said.
Carman says with nationwide spikes in youth gun-related crimes, she fears a young person could be responsible. She reminds everyone that families are impacted by your actions.
Right now, the sheriff's office says is still unclear what led to the shooting and why Fuller was driving along Eisenhower Parkway.
Anyone with information can call the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office at 478-751-7500 or the Macon Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-877-68CRIME.
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More Than A Number is a Poynter-Stand Together award-winning project by Justin Baxley designed to help families of loved ones impacted by tragedy and trauma interact with journalists in a less intrusive way. Families are able to fill out a form about their family and also receive an in-depth guide on the next steps.
More Than A Number officially launched in August with a streaming special available on 13WMAZ+ for on-demand streaming. For any questions or concerns about More Than A Number, contact us here at the following email: MoreThanANumber@13wmaz.com