A joyful birthday celebration turned tragic when a shooting at a toddler’s party in Stockton, California, resulted in four fatalities, including three children, and left 11 others injured.
The family of 14-year-old Amari Peterson is grappling with the devastating aftermath of the shooting that claimed his life during the festive gathering intended to celebrate a two-year-old’s birthday.
Patrick Peterson, Amari’s father, expressed his heartbreak, emphasizing that the weekend event was meant to be a joyous occasion, not a somber commemoration of his son’s death just days later.
Reflecting on Amari’s birth, Peterson described his son as “the perfect gift from God.” Now, he is haunted by the last moments he shared with Amari.
“I can still see my son crawling on the ground, and all I could do was try to revive him,” Peterson recounted, his voice heavy with emotion.
Amari succumbed to a gunshot wound to the chest, according to his father. The tragedy unfolded as the family, along with many others, gathered inside the venue on Saturday when the sudden eruption of gunfire shattered the celebration.
“I just heard gunshots and then the shooter came in,” Peterson said. “I turned my back and I looked at him and I just start seeing him shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot.”
Peterson says his daughter was grazed in the chaos. He tried to reach Amari as people ran in all directions.
“Everybody (was) running off and my son is just sitting there crawling, just trying to get up,” he said. “I’m trying to give him CPR and he just has blood coming out of his face. It’s just something that a father should never have to go through.”
He says the scene replays in his mind whenever he tries to lie down.
“I’m like laying over my son while he’s sitting there breathing… trying to breathe…” he said. “Every day he would tell me, ‘Dad, I love you. Dad, I appreciate you.’ Every night, every morning that boy would tell me he loved me.”
Peterson describes his son as a “gentle soul,” loved by many and passionate about sports.
“He loved sports, he loved football. He loved basketball,” Peterson said. “He ran a little bit of track but overall, he was a gentle soul.”
He says he still can’t understand why this happened. The motive in the shooting hasn’t been released and investigators say they are still working the case.
