LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Four years after a stray bullet killed Dequante Hobbs Jr., the boy's parents and loved ones held a memorial service Saturday at Shively Park.Â
Hobbs, 7, was hit by a stray bullet while he ate a piece of cake and played on an iPad at a kitchen table inside a West Madison Street home in the Russell neighborhood in 2017. On Saturday, his family and others gathered to celebrate his legacy and bring awareness to gun violence.
"We are celebrating his life with food, balloons, family and close friends," said Hobbs' mother, Micheshia Norment.Â
After Hobbs' death, the community honored his legacy in a variety of ways. His classmates at Wellington Elementary dedicated a garden to Hobbs; a 2-mile section of Cane Run Road was adopted in his honor; and NFL player Jamon Brown presented a custom jersey to Hobbs' family.
Norment said Saturday's celebration was about about keeping her son's name alive.
"People tend to forget about people that pass away to gun violence. Probably because, you know, we're going through a pandemic and then it's been protest and scenes and things going on so some people, they just forget," she said. "I'm making them not forget."
The man who fired the shot that killed Hobbs, Wyatt Williams, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2019.
Related Stories:
- Man who shot and killed 7-year-old Dequante Hobbs sentenced to prison
- Dequante Hobbs' friends and family celebrate what would have been his 8th birthday
- Highway adopted and dedicated to Dequante Hobbs Jr.
- UofL presents jersey to family of Dequante Hobbs Jr.
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