According to local reports, 18-year-old Lateo Garrett was shot and killed on Saturday night after an unknown gunman tried to rob him of his Cartier sunglasses at a gas station on Detroit's east side.
Lateo had been at the gas station with his brother to get something to drink when a man approached him and grabbed for his sunglasses, police said. His mother, who wished to remain anonymous, described what she saw from the surveillance footage. She says that when the man reached for him, Lateo ducked and the man reacted by firing and running away without even getting the glasses. The boys then called 911 before reaching out to their mother.
A preliminary police investigation says that he was originally transported to a hospital in serious condition, but that he soon succumbed to his injuries. Police also say that the person who shot and killed Garrett then jumped into the backseat of a vehicle that was occupied by three other people. The suspect is being described as a black male with a slim build between the ages of 20-25, and the vehicle is believed to be a red Chevy Cobalt.
“I can get another pair of glasses. I can’t get his life back," Lateo's mother told Fox 2 Detroit. “You took a child away you took somebody’s kid for something that you didn’t even get was it worth it."
She also detailed what she heard when her son called her from the scene.
“Lateo was like 'I’m losing it bro,' and my son was like 'I’m here, I’m with you bro I’m just hot.' I’m on the phone talking to them the whole time," she said. “I see it on the news I see it on social media, I feel bad for those families but never in a million years do you think you get that call, never."
She adds that Garrett had planned on going to college next year. “Very humble, he would go to work every day,” she said. "Just a nice kid."
