Family And Friends Release Balloons in Memory of 14-Year-Old Victim

COLUMBIA,SC (WOLO)- Family and Friends of a 14-year-old who was shot and killed over the weekend held a balloon release in  his honor.

People who knew Tiquan Taylor say they’re still in disbelief that he’s gone.

“I’m going to miss you,” Jada Neal, Taylor’s Aunt said.

“It’s not that he’s gone, it’s emptiness,” Solomon Scott, Taylor’s best friend said. “Knowing you’re not going to see him no more.”

The 14-year-old’s life was taken at the hands of another teen over a video game console, according to deputies. Taylor’s family hopes that his death serves as a wake up call.

“He’s never going to get married, he’s never going to graduate high school,” Jenevieve Gordon, Taylor’s great aunt said. “It’s our youths killing one another. Senseless.”

For some of Taylor’s family and friends, the balloon release was about closure, but for others, closure will come with time.

“Nothing is ever going to help because nothing is going to bring him back,” Joshua Witherspon, Taylor’s friend said.

Many describe him as funny, a dancer, one heck of an athlete and popular around campus.

As Taylor’s family and friends cling on each other for support, they begin to heal.

“I love you bro, and I miss you bro,”  Witherspon said. “Rest easy.”