Stanley Freeman Jr.'s grandmother and primary caregiver is grateful arrests have been made in connection with the 16-year old's killing but says there is still a "long road ahead."
Authorities announced Monday they had arrested two teenage boys in the fatal shooting of Freeman. The two teens, ages 14 and 16, face charges of first-degree murder, said Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen. Knox News is not identifying the suspects because the newspaper typically does not identify juveniles accused of crimes.
"He was on a path to fulfill so many hopes and dreams," Freeman's grandmother Darlene Ngom said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. "We are very thankful for this first step in bringing Stanley’s murderers to justice. We do know there is a long road ahead, but we are praying for very strict sentencing by charging the defendants as adults. We want this very strict sentencing to affect the thinking and actions of others. Strict sentencing will not bring us Stanley back, but it will keep the defendants from committing senseless crimes again."