LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- People shed tears and shared laughs and lots of hugs as they gathered Monday evening to celebrate the life of Toreon Hudson.
LMPD said Hudson, and two other men were sitting on the patio at Bungalow Joe's restaurant Friday when Michael Rhynes walked up and shot them. Officers said the shooting was caught on video, and Rhynes was found nearby crawling in a bush.
Hudson's life was cut short just days before what would have been his 27th birthday.
"It's a bad dream I can't wake up from," said his mother, MarKeyta Buford.
His aunt, Martyna Buford McCann, said, "I know we're going to shed some tears because we are going to miss him physically, but just know, just know that he's in heaven."
Hudson was a son, brother, friend and father to a one-year-old girl. As his loved ones try to grasp what happened to him, they are reflecting on the light he brought into the world.
"He was always encouraging everybody that he came across that if he noticed you were down about something he would go out of his way to come and check on you," McCann said.
Friend Derick Herron said, "He just had the most grateful impact on everyone. He had the most infectious laugh. He is one of the most real people I've ever met in my life."
Those who knew Hudson said he was fierce on the basketball court and musically talented. His family said his legacy will live on through the lives he touched.
Friends and family released balloons into the sky and reminded people to hold on tightly to their loved ones.
"Live your life like there's no tomorrow because nobody's promised tomorrow," McCann said.
The suspected shooter, Rhynes, was assigned a $2 million dollar bond Monday. WDRB has confirmed he is a sergeant in the Kentucky Army National Guard.
LMPD called the shooting a random act of violence and said there is no evidence that the crime was racially motivated or a hate crime.
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