Forth Worth mother mourns teenage son killed in accidental shooting – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

A Fort Worth family says their 16-year-old son was accidentally shot this week by a 14-year-old who was playing with a gun.

Damariion Henton leaves behind six siblings and a mother who is also battling cancer.

Henton’s mother, Ashley Lemmons, told NBC 5 that the 16-year-old Polytechnic High School student stood out for all the right reasons.

“Teachers would always say, ‘I want to reproduce him,’ because he was just such a good kid,” Lemmons said. “He never gave me any trouble.”

On Tuesday night, Ashley Lemmons hugged her son and watched him walk to his girlfriend’s house.

Hours later she was woken up by a phone call.

“His girlfriend’s mother said, ‘Your son is gone,'” Lemmons said. “And I’m just wondering: What do you mean gone?”

When Lemmons reached the house on Avenue L, he saw it surrounded by Fort Worth police.

Her daughter had also been home and told her mother what she had seen: Henton’s girlfriend’s 14-year-old brother had been playing with a gun and accidentally shot Henton in the neck.

“Words can never describe how I feel,” Lemmons said. “I cry in waves.”

Damariion Henton died at the scene of the accident.

In a statement released Tuesday about the incident, Fort Worth police said, “Detectives determined that the suspect was handling a handgun and the fired weapon struck the victim.”

“Medical personnel attempted life-saving measures on the victim, but he was pronounced dead at the scene,” the statement continued. “The suspect has been identified and is being interviewed by investigators. No arrests have been made at this time.”

His mother said in the days since Henton’s death her grief has been overwhelming.

“And then I just think I should have hugged him a little tighter,” Lemmons said. “I should have just hugged him a little more.”

As she thinks about how she will remember her son, she also faces another battle.

“I’m dealing with cancer,” Lemmons said. “And financially it’s difficult.”

Lemmons said she was already struggling to pay for medication as she fought for her life. Now she’s wondering how she’ll afford to bury her child.

“I’m a single parent, I don’t get any support for my kids, so I do everything myself,” Lemmons said. “I work 16 hours a day.”

Henton’s mother said her son’s death shows that young people need to stop playing with deadly weapons.

She told NBC 5 that she forgives the teenager who accidentally shot Henton — but she was conflicted about whether he should be charged.

“I feel like he has to take responsibility for my son’s death,” Lemmons said. “But I also want him to come back from this.”

NBC 5 reached out to Fort Worth police to ask if charges would be filed in this case. Because the suspect was a juvenile, investigators said there was limited information they could share.