SACRAMENTO, Calif — The family of a teen who just graduated high school is grieving as they question what happened to Daani Partridge.
They said the 18-year-old was at the wrong place at the wrong time when he was shot and killed outside his home in Upper Land Park. They now have an emotional plea to stop the violence.
Partridge was killed in a shooting Sunday at the Marina Vista housing units on 5th Street, just steps away from his family's home.
"I just found him lying there. He was just bleeding. It happened so fast, happened so fast. It was just a blink of an eye. That's the worst fear. That's the worst fear of a sibling," said Nyima Simms, who is the eldest sister of Daani Partridge III.
Simms says she held her brother in her arms as he was dying.
His mother, Jameelah Allen, found him outside after hearing bullets riddle her home.
"I would often worry and wonder if something would ever happen to him and my deepest fear was confirmed. That day was a nightmare. Where I'm standing right here, I despise it. I don't even want to be here right now, but it took me enough to come and fight for my son. I'm a warrior from this, a warrior. It should not be like this," Allen said.
The family said Partridge was as a social butterfly who would befriend anyone.
He graduated from Sacramento Academic and Vocational Academy about three weeks ago, and they just celebrated his 18th birthday a week earlier.
"How can a young man turning 18 leave this world that way? He did what they say to do. Get your diploma, graduate high school. 18 came, he was planning the next thing in this life game, and all of the sudden that, out of the blue, that sinister energy came for him...," said Mrs. Roshumba, who is the grandmother of Daani Partridge III.
Now, they relive Sunday afternoon every time they step outside.
Partridge had dreams of going to college and being a barber. His family demands accountability and justice for whoever took his life.
"Who would have thought I'd be here burying my baby brother? Who would have thought that man. He didn't deserve that. He didn't deserve that, man. So please, anyone who's listening to this, please, man. Y'all we've got to stop this. We got to stop this, man. This is, man, too much. This is too much," Simms said.
The family is planning a vigil Wednesday at 7 p.m. They're also calling for more security in the area where they live.
Meanwhile, they have a GoFundMe page set up to help cover funeral expenses, which is available here.
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