“I’m forever grateful to have been his mom for 17 years but God needed him more”

“He had more things in life, positive things he wanted to do and probably would have done something positive for them but no, they chose to want to be gangsters.“

The mother of a teenager killed in Gonzales over a senseless crime says her son, Mekhi Darville, was simply helping two friends who were being bullied.

Darville, 17, picked up two of his friends after the East Ascension High football game wrapped up. He was shot once and died on the way to the hospital.

“All I got was a call saying my son had been shot and at the location. I went there and assumed he would be okay. Then I get to the hospital to find out my son got to the hospital without a heartbeat. So in transportation, he lost his life,” said Darville’s mother Tomeka Beaureau. “I had prayed already about it that the Lord had me covered and my son covered. I had to accept whatever it would be. It’s hard but I’m grateful to have had the 17 years I had with him and see the impact he had on the world.”

Darville was a senior at St. Amant High School in Ascension Parish and had plans to head to college next year. His mom described him as a “very loving, friendly, spirited person.”

“He had all types of friends. You came in contact with him, he was that energetic person who had friends from everywhere,” said Beaureau.

His mother recalled how Darville absolutely loved dogs and wanted to be a vet from an early age.

“He was a huge dog lover. When he was small, he said he wanted to be a vet because he loved dogs. As he got older, he focused on a few dogs and horses and helped them. I can remember him having a stuffed animal. He made him a doghouse. I was that person who didn’t believe in animals but Mekhi had this mechanical dog. This dog was almost like a real dog. Then everyone told me I need to get him a real dog. We got him a puppy and said it couldn’t come in the house. Mekhi got his dog kennel started about 3-4 years ago and guess what, the dog ended up coming in the house. That boy made me bow down and so many things I said ‘No’ to, he made me say ‘Yes’ to him,” said his mother.

It was Nov. 11th around 9:40pm when Gonzales Police Officers responded to Fuel Smart parking lot on Burnside Ave.

Gonzales Police have released new details into Darville’s shooting death saying officers have now learned it “was a tragic unrelated event, stemming from the escalation of an ongoing social media feud between two groups of juveniles. Mekhi Darville was not associated with or a participant in this feud. Investigators believe that Mekhi Darville was simply the driver of the vehicle that one of groups of juveniles were passengers in, when the two groups encountered each other.”

“I always taught my children to treat everyone like you want to be treated and don’t ever look down on someone who is being bullied. Instead, help them and that’s what my son was doing,” said the mother. “He was trying to defuse the situation, not add fuel to the fire. He was at the game at East Ascension High game with his dog. I guess something happened at the game with the two other boys and he was giving them a ride home. Those two were feuding with someone else and that other group or person followed Mekhi. Mekhi asked his friends why they were following them? Mekhi stopped the car and told those guys to put the guns down. Witnesses told me he said ‘If you really want to fight, then fight the old fashioned way but put the guns down’.”

Instead, police say Darville took a single bullet that killed him.

Beaureau is broken over losing her son but also proud of the legacy he has left behind.

“He lived life. I’m forever grateful to have been his mom for 17 years but God needed him more. I have to keep going for his siblings and I will see him again. I have to find peace in my heart because the Lord says so. I have no hate in my heart for anyone,” she said. “I hope they (the shooter(s)) can find peace knowing they took my son’s life. He had more things in life, positive things he wanted to do and probably would have done something positive for them but no, they chose to want to be gangsters. I’m torn over the situation but I have to look at it on a positive note. My boy is not out in this wicked world. It’s so hard nowadays to keep our children out of the streets but we parents have to come together to make sure our children know they’re loved and can stay at home with their families and not be out on the streets.”

Gonzales Police is asking for the public’s help with any information. They are currently working leads and could not divulge any further information on the case. If you can help and want to remain anonymous, you can call Crime Stoppers at 344-STOP or submit your tip online anonymously.

“This is the work of the Lord because I trust in Him and Him only. At the end of the day, God got it and He will fix it,” Beaureau said. “I just need prayers. I just need prayers at this moment. Just pray for the community as a whole. Our kids need to know that human life is not replaceable. We need to save our kids.”

Funeral arrangements have not been set at this time.