Mother of suspect in graduation party shooting speaks

The mother of a teenager accused in a deadly shooting at a graduation party last weekend is speaking out.

Pamela O'Neal told Fox 5 her son, Gemarrius O'Neal, 19, was at the party in Jackson over the weekend. However, she said he and his sister tried to avoid trouble when gunfire erupted.

"He didn't kill that child," O'Neal said. "...He was trying to duck. That's what he told me. He said, 'Mama, I was trying to put them in the car.'"

Deputies have arrested O'Neal and Christopher Walker, 19, in connection with 16-year-old Cederrius Hastings' death.

They told Fox 5 both suspects face murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime charges. Butts County Sheriff Gary Long said the shootout stemmed from a planned fight between students at the graduation party in Jackson.

O'Neal said she's heartbroken over the violence.

"It just makes me want to shake. That is just not right. That's scary. It's so emotional," she said. "That mother lost her child and I feel her pain."