"Please, young children. Put these guns down" Family of Jacksonville teen gunned down grieve loss

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The family of a 16-year-old boy killed after school is demanding justice.

Action News Jax told you Monday when Adrian Gainer was killed at the Hilltop Village Apartments in Moncrief.

Thursday night, family and friends gathered at the apartment complex for his vigil.

His mother promised she will fight for her son. She told Action News Jax Courtney Cole he would have turned 17 in just a few weeks.

Cole spoke to family members who are frustrated with the lack of progress with the case.

"I watched my son, on that ground, shot up in the middle of the parking lot. No one should have to go through that,” said Elizabeth Gainer.

On Wednesday evening, family and friends gathered in the Hilltop Village Apartments—where 16-year-old Adrian Gainer was shot and killed in broad daylight—on Monday afternoon.

“Adrian was not a gangster, he was not a thug. He was loved by many. He loved his life. He had a mother, he had a father, he had grandparents,” said Gainer.

Gainer told Cole her son also has 3 sisters and one brother who are going to miss him dearly.

Gainer, says she won't rest until the person who did this, is behind bars.

“You have to be a real coward to murder my baby, shoot him the back, fresh out of school. He had just got off the school bus,” said Gainer.

Family gathered to console one another after the vigil. They told Action News Jax Courtney Cole nothing can take this pain away.

“That's my sister's baby. He's a baby. He had his whole life ahead of him. I don't wish that hurt on nobody,” said Adrian’s Auntie Ray Ray.

While the family waits for anyone to come forward with information, Adrian's grandmother had one final message she wanted to share:

“Please, young children. Put these guns down. Look at what you're doing to us! We is hurting, all because y’all won't put these guns down,” said Blanche Jordan.

Anyone with information is urged to call Crimestoppers, which you can do anonymously, at 866-845-TIPS.

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