EAST POINT, Ga. — A metro Atlanta family and the community are mourning the loss of a 16-year-old who was gunned down at an East Point MARTA station Sunday.
Jaylan was 16 years old. His loved ones are now calling for a stop to youth gun violence.
Jaylan's loved ones said he was an athlete, had a big smile, and he loved making everyone laugh. And this senseless act of violence was like a gut punch to those that loved him.
Antonio Major is Jaylan's father. Jaylan had two brothers and two sisters.
"His personality was one-of-a-kind," Antonio said, "He could walk in the room and brighten up any room."
Jaylan's mother, Deandra Simpson, said Jaylan had just started a new job at the airport. Normally, she'd drop him off herself, but, as teenagers do, he wanted to be independent and catch the train on his own that Sunday.
"I dropped him off at the train station," Simpson said, "And I said, 'Have a good day son. I'll be waiting on you to pick you up from work.' And he said, 'Ok, mom.' And that was it."
Moments later, Major was found shot in the head after a busy weekend in Atlanta. Two teens are now behind bars, arrested in connection to his death.
According to arrest warrants, officers arrived at the rail station and found Major bleeding from the head. As they worked to collect evidence, authorities said one shell casing was on the platform and a gun was found in nearby bushes.
East Point Police officials said that a 15-year-old pulled the trigger leading to Major's death. An 18-year-old was with the other teen at the time of the shooting. Warrants reveal that a third person was also detained at the initial scene but was determined to be a friend of Major.
The four were involved in an argument that became physical, with Major stepping into the fight after one of the teens punched his friend, warrants show. That's when one teen fired a single shot, killing Major, according to arrest records.
The 15-year-old was charged with possession of a handgun and voluntary manslaughter and the 18-year-old was charged with simple battery involuntary manslaughter, according to police.
His former football coach, Mark Forston, is still processing the loss. He describes Jaylan as a star player.
"I was in shock, initially," Forston said, "And then, I didn't want to believe it was him. And I was hoping that it wasn't him.
Dwan Anderson also coached Jaylan and his family said Anderson was one of Jaylan's mentors. Anderson describes Jaylan as charismatic.
"Jaylan was like a family member to me. His mom, his dad-- we've done a lot of things together. We communicate all the time," Anderson said, "It really hit home with me. My heart just dropped. Everything went numb."
Jaylan was a sophomore at Tri-Cities High School. His accused shooter was only 15. Another teen was arrested in connection with the shooting as well.
Tri-Cities High Alumni President Kavon Arnold said the youth gun violence has got to stop.
"All I could think about was, that could have easily been my daughter," Arnold continues, "Put the guns down. It's OK to disagree, but it's also OK to have positive conflict resolution. And I think that's what's going on with our kids, where they don't want to talk about what's going on. They just want to pick a gun up. They want to shoot. They want to fight. And then, when it's all said and done, you don't even know what you're fighting about."
No family plans to bury a 16-year-old. So, the family started an online fundraiser to help with funeral arrangements. Simpson said no parent should ever have to go through this.
"It's so much going on with our kids losing their lives," Simpson said. "Like, they're not getting the chance to live out their futures because it's just a lot of killing on killing with our young babies."
A balloon release was held Wednesday at the John D. Milner Sports Complex Wednesday evening.
