VALDOSTA, Ga. (WCTV) - Two weeks after a 21-year-old was killed in what police are calling an accidental shooting, the victim’s family is remembering and honoring their loved one.

McArthur Howard III, better known by friends and family as Leek, was shot and killed at a home on the 400 block of North Troup Street, according to the Valdosta Police Department.

“I can’t get my son back,” his mother, Felicia Howard, said. “I wish I could rewind time, but you can’t. And, that unexpected news, I wish on no mother. No mother should have to bear hearing the fact that their son is gone and you’re never going to have a chance to get him back.”

Howard said she is still processing and wants others to understand the dire consequences of mishandling a gun.

“One minute we were just talking, and the next minute, I’m receiving news that he is no longer with us,” she said. “It has affected this family in so many different ways.”

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“I love my brother a lot,” Leek’s sister My’Asia Howard said. “He was my best friend - still is.”

Felicia Howard said Leek’s younger siblings are struggling to process their brother’s death, as he was the oldest of seven.

“They don’t understand. They cry at night. We all do,” Howard said. “We try to comfort each other as much as we can, but our emotions are all over the place.”

My’Asia remembers her brother as a kind-hearted person.

“He was loving and kind and really funny, and can light up a room. That’s just how he was - a jokester,” she said. “He would give. He’d give you the shirt off his back.”

As she works to cope with her brother’s passing, she said each day comes with its challenges.

“I try not to be angry or bitter or anything, but forgiving and understanding. And, it does hurt,” My’Asia Howard said. “It’s very painful. It’s a hurt that some people understand, but many don’t.”

Howard has created a GoFundMe to help cover the costs of a burial and honor her son’s life. The GoFundMe can be found here.

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