GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Students gathered on the field at Parkview High School Monday morning to remember a 17-year-old junior killed by a stray bullet that came through a motel wall just after he fell asleep.
Sheldon Lewis died Thursday night at a motel on Stone Mountain Highway near Lilburn.
“It didn’t sound like a gun bullet, it just sounded like something fell or just pop,” his older sister Tomyia Lewis said. “He wouldn’t get up.”
The family of six was together in their room the night before their parents’ anniversary. Sheldon had just fallen asleep after playing video games.
The bullet came through the wall from the room next door, missing Tomyia’s other sister by mere centimeters, she said.
Police say 31-year-old Shermarcus Cockran told detectives he’d just come back from a gun range and was cleaning his gun when it fired through the wall.
Cockran is charged with involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct. He has been released from jail after posting a $14,000 bond, according to jail records.
“You decided to aim a gun in the wall behind you where another room is, another family is in. You took someone’s life,” Tomyia said. “I hope he feels all the shame and guilt.”
The Parkview junior was supposed to run track this spring, according to his family. He was part of his family’s catering business.
Friends say he had a gift for uplifting others.
“If it was your worst day, your best day, he made sure you laughed or smiled before you exit his presence,” Tomyia said.
The loss of Sheldon came when the family had already lost so much and were desperately searching for stability.
“My mom was recently diagnosed with cancer. My dad can’t physically work, he’s disabled,” Tomyia said.
Now still without a place to call home, they’re planning a funeral instead of a future.
“We shouldn’t be the ones to pick out a suit for him to wear and pick out his colors,” Tomyia said. “His funeral was not supposed to happen. Not this early.”
The family has set up a GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses.
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