She says her son did not run with gangs and that officers turned their back on him just before he was killed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Khamoi Petersen's mom couldn't make it any clearer as she and other family members gathered for a vigil last night at the Jacksonville Landing, near where the 16-year-old was shot.
"He's never been in a gang," Monifa Petersen added. "He's not affiliated with a gang. Stop scandalizing Khamoi's name."
A 13-year-old was also shot in the leg during that incident, but he's expected to recover.
As friends and family members gathered around her with balloons and signs, she stated that her son went to officers asking for help just before shots rang out around 4 p.m. Monday.
"He said he's in fear for his life and they walked off on him," Petersen stated. "As soon as the police walked off, the gunshots rang."
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has since said they're looking into possible gang links in this shooting as well as the one nearly two weeks earlier during the first Art Walk of 2017.
Petersen says her son - who died nine days before his 17th birthday - has been an honors student since the 6th grade, that he was never in any trouble with the police and that he was home with her the night two other teens were shot at Art Walk.
"If he was a gang member, why would he go to the police?" Petersen said. "If he was a gang member, he would've handled it on his own."
She also took the media to task because she feels her son's name has been "slandered" by reporters.
"Y'all put fabrications out," Peterson noted. "95% of y'all's stories are wrong."
JSO hasn't said anything specifically about her allegations or released many other details about the case, but officers have confirmed that they're reviewing security video and interviewing 30 or so witnesses found at the scene.
Investigators also say that some of the people involved in this shooting seem to be linked to the Art Walk shooting and that everyone involved in the shooting just outside the Landing's Water Street entrance knew one another.
Sheriff Mike Williams also noted that there did seem to be some differences between the two shootings, noting in particular that this shooting seemed to be sparked by an argument that escalated while the Art Walk shooting appeared to be more planned out.
Petersen's mom says she's not going to rest until she gets answers about how her son died as well as until whoever shot and killed him is caught.
"My son's name is not going to go in vain," Petersen stated. "I'm not going to stop until I receive justice for Khamoi."
JSO says extra security measures are now being considered at the Landing, including possible curfews.
