PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The father of Kemon Battle, a 12-year-old boy who was shot and killed in Portsmouth, is speaking out.
Dionte Artis said the loss of his young son has been too difficult to bear. He hasn’t been able to sleep well since his son was killed.
“I’m depressed. I’m hurt. I’m damaged,” said Artis.
Portsmouth Police Department said they arrested a teenager in connection with the shooting of Kemon. The suspect is only 14-years-old. Police are not releasing his name because he is a minor.
Artis said he was relieved when he learned police arrested a suspect. Still, grappling with the loss of his first-born child is unimaginable.
“I hurt inside, I bleed inside. I try to hold my emotions, not showing so much out in public, but at home, I do cry and go through a lot,” said Artis. “I put my loved ones through so much because of what I'm going through.”
De’Andre Barnes, Kemon’s cousin, said the arrest of a suspect is bittersweet.
“It's a shame,” said Barnes. “We're happy that someone will be brought to justice, but we're sad that it's another child.”
A child who was no stranger to Kemon or his family. Barnes knew the suspect personally, he met the 14-year-old during his time as a youth coordinator.
Kemon was in the program with the suspect.
“Both of them they used to hang together, used to be friends,” said Barnes.
Barnes said the family still isn’t sure what went wrong between the two boys. The unanswered questions make it nearly impossible to find closure.
“Everybody wants to know what happened, and we want to know what happened so we can prevent it from happening to another kid,” said Barnes.
Artis said his focus is trying to make sure his other children are okay. Kemon had a younger brother, the two were only a year apart.
“It’s tough for him now that he's understanding and he's really seeing that he's (Kemon) not there,” said Artis.
Barnes said Kemon was killed the day the family planned to gather the kids for their annual Christmas tradition: decorating cookies in their pajamas.
Police have charged the teen with voluntary manslaughter.