BRUNSWICK COUNTY, Va. — Family and friends gathered in Ebony, Virginia, to celebrate a new life while mourning the loss of Jakwon Andre Bullock.
The bittersweet gathering took place at the volunteer fire department in Brunswick County on Saturday afternoon, just days after the 20-year-old was killed in a double shooting outside the Ebony General Store last Friday.
While Bullock's 19-year-old cousin remains in critical condition, authorities are still searching for the suspects, who were reportedly in a car near the crime scene.
The celebration marked the upcoming birth of Bullock's daughter, due on April 20.
"He touched so many people's lives," Ashley Nuss, Bullock’s mother, said.
Ashante Hurt, Bullock’s fiancée, said it is "very hard" to come to grips with the fact that Bullock won't get to meet his daughter.
"We met when we were 13, and ever since we had our times where we weren't at the greatest of terms," Hurt said. "But we always found our way back to each other. He always told me, 'I want you to be the mother of my kids and be my wife.'"
Hurt is determined to honor Bullock's memory by raising their daughter.
"I'm just going to try my best and raise my daughter, and try to give her all the love and show her all the love that he would've shown her, and let her know who her daddy was," Hurt said.
As the community copes with the violence, Nuss expressed her confidence in the local sheriff’s office to bring justice.
"I know he's got a good team," Nuss said about Capt. Joey Lopresti. "I went to take him some information. He already had it before I could give it to him. I believe in them... To me, he's like top dog and he's going to get it done."
No arrests have been made, and investigators continue their search for the individuals responsible for the shooting.
Lopresti previously said investigators believe the shooting was a targeted attack and that the shooter or shooters left the area in a 2016 Kia sedan with California license plate 9JRB555.
The vehicle may have front-end damage that likely happened before the incident, Lopresti said. But the car may also have damage from gunshots or bullet holes.
Ebony, which had a population of 150 people according to the 2020 Census, is roughly 90 miles and a 1-hour, 35-minute drive from Richmond.
The shooting disrupted the usually peaceful town located about three-quarters of a mile from the North Carolina state line.
"It's the outskirts of our county. It's very quiet. It encompasses part of Lake Gaston," Lopresti said. "We have very little violent crime."
Lopresti urged anyone with information about the case to come forward.
"Some evidence was left on the scene by the suspects," Lopresti said. "But any help that citizens can give or anybody that might know the location of the suspect vehicle, please reach out to us."
Anyone with information about the crime that could help with the investigation is urged to call Capt. Joey Lopresti at the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office at 434-848-3133.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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