LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — On November 11, two teens were shot and killed after a shooting near the McCain Mall in North Little Rock.
Though there are a lot of ways for Alex Berry, Jr. to remember his son Alex Berry III, he explained that words just don't compare to the gift of seeing him.
"Every time I would see him, it just made me so proud," Berry, Jr. said. "Loved tennis shoes, he just had fun, he just wanted to have fun."
That "gift" was taken this past Friday.
"Sitting on the side of the bed and it just, everything just went to chaos," Berry, Jr. said.
That night, Alex Berry III was one of two 17-year-olds shot and killed near McCain Mall— The other was Marcus Blue, one of his best friends.
"His friend Marcus, he was a good kid, played ball at LISA Academy," Berry, Jr. said. "They were friends since they were little, so we always felt safe when they were together."
The North Little Rock Police Department hasn't released information about what happened, and Berry, Jr.expressed that he doesn't want to know.
"I have an overreactive imagination, and I can imagine this this this this this, which makes it horrible," he said. "So I'm just trying to get to putting him to rest, and trying to move past it."
There was a lot to look forward to for his son, and his family was ready to watch him grow.
Berry III had plans to leave for the Navy in April, and when he retired from active service, he wanted to start his own business.
"I don't have to worry about him being hurt again, so that's that," Berry, Jr. said. "But I won't be able to see him grow up, I won't be able to see him have his own family or live his life, and I mean, that's just the tightrope that you have to walk."
Maybe the most important part for his parents was getting Berry III out of Central Arkansas.
Many had voiced their concerns about violence recently, including his father.
"For us, me and his mom, we were just ecstatic about him getting away from here because it's a lot going on for these children," he said.
Even in the aftermath of tragedy, Alex's memory will remain— a dedicated student and goofy kid, and the son Berry, Jr. raised.
"Just seeing him and just being able to hang out with him," he said. "You know, him going from the back seat and in a car seat to the front seat, and just, I mean... it's gonna be hard to be without that."
Anyone with information about what may have happened is encouraged to call the North Little Rock Police Department at (501) 680-8439.