JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The family of a 3-year-old boy who died after being shot in the head last week is trying to stay strong, but is still hurting, the boy's aunt said Tuesday.
Connor Mickens' aunt, PK Mickens, also told News4Jax that they are thankful for the city keeping her family and Connor in its prayers.
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According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Connor was one of four people in a home on Broadway Avenue at Carrie Street about 10 p.m. Thursday when somebody came in and started shooting. The 3-year-old was hit in the head and his mother was shot in the leg.
Connor died at a hospital Saturday.
Mickens said she, her sister and their family are in a lot of pain.
"The best way I could describe this feeling is a knife being stuck inside of you and then it being pulled out slowly, healing up just a little bit, then being stuck somewhere else," Mickens said. "It's a roller coaster."
The man arrested in connection to the shooting made his first appearance in court this past weekend.
Brian Littles, who police described as an ex-boyfriend of the mother, turned himself in Friday. He was arrested on a gun charge stemming from a juvenile warrant from 2010 and was being questioned by homicide detectives in the shooting.
Mickens said she hopes her nephew's tragic death will shed a larger spotlight on domestic violence.
"It's sad that he was taken away from us," the aunt said. "But we, kind of, want to look on the bright side and hope that someone else's life is changed and that they don't have to go through a domestic violence circumstance as this or allow something like this to happen."
Anyone who is a victim of domestic violence can call the Hubbard House 24-hour hotline at 904-354-3114.