Family remembers 17-year-old as 'happy-go-lucky kid' during vigil

Family remembers 17-year-old Anjuan Maffett

Family and friends of 17-year-old Anjuan Maffett held a balloon release in his honor on Wednesday. Maffett was shot and killed last weekend outside the Bando Restaurant on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive in southwest Atlanta.

ATLANTA - Family and friends of 17-year-old Anjuan Maffett held a balloon release in his honor on Wednesday.

Maffett was shot and killed last weekend outside the Bando Restaurant on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive in southwest Atlanta.

Remembering Anjuan Maffett

What they're saying:

Emotions were high as family and friends gathered to lift 17-year-old Anjuan Maffett up in prayer.

Candles arranged to form the teen’s nickname "Bigg" as the crowd sought comfort from each other. 

Candles arranged to spell "Bigg," the nickname of 17-year-old Anjuan Maffett, glowed during a vigil in southwest Atlanta on Dec. 3, 2025. (FOX 5)

His uncle, Roby Magby, says the violence must stop. "His life was cut short, and I don’t understand why," he said.

It was a sentiment many attending Wednesday’s vigil were trying to figure out. "I was sad and hurt. I was more shocked than anything," his uncle said. "There’s a lot of violence going on here in Atlanta, period."

Loved ones released red and black balloons for 17-year-old Anjuan Maffett during a vigil at the shopping center on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in southwest Atlanta on Dec. 3, 2025. (FOX 5)

Loved ones released red and black balloons, his favorite colors, along with a flood of memories. "The best memory that I have of him is when his parents had barbecues. He had a lot of fun. He was a happy-go-lucky kid," his uncle said.

Amid the laments of a life cut short, Magby sought solutions to what he sees as the underlying problem. "We got to grab hold of our kids. Politicians need to look at what they need to look at. Instead of hiding behind a desk. Open your mouth and help us. We can’t do it all without them," he said. "It’s all the young people dying. It’s not a whole lot of old people dying. It’s a whole lot of young people that’s dying. They’re dying from gun violence, and it ought not be that way."

Seventeen-year-old Anjuan Maffett is shown in a family photo released after he was fatally shot at a southwest Atlanta shopping center on Dec. 3, 2025.

Teen shot, killed at southwest Atlanta shopping center

The backstory:

Maffett was gunned down at a shopping center in the 3000 block of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive just after noon this past Saturday. Investigators said the 17-year-old boy was out shopping with his family when he "had some words" with a group of males.

Gunfire followed soon after, striking the teen and leading to his death. Officers at the scene said no one else at the busy shopping center was hit.

Investigators said there was good security video of the violent incident, and the Atlanta Police Department released a photo of a person of interest in the deadly shooting.

A person of interest in the killing of 17-year-old Anjuan Maffett is shown in an image released by Atlanta police at a shopping center on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in southwest Atlanta on November 30, 2025. (Atlanta Police Department )

Maffett’s family is fully cooperating with the investigation, police said.

Search for person of interest

What's next:

As of Wednesday evening, police were still looking for his killer.

What you can do:

Anyone with information about the crime or the identity of the person pictured is asked to contact Atlanta police or Crime Stoppers of Greater Atlanta.