WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — We're learning more about William Miller Jr. He is the 15-year-old who died in Wednesday's shooting at Mount Tabor High School.
WFMY News 2's Grace Holland spoke to Shannon Clark as she shared her son's story for the first time since he died.
"My baby is gone. He’s never coming back," Clark said. "I have probably had three or four hours of sleep since this happened."
Friends and family rallied around the mother of three at a balloon release Friday. She said she wants the world to know her oldest son.
"Not (as) the little boy that got shot in school but (as) William Chavis Reynard Miller Junior. That's my son's name," Clark said. "He was an amazing kid. He wasn’t a disrespectful kid. He was full of joy. He had lots of friends."
She remembers the last conversation they had. She said on the day of the shooting he woke up late for school.
"I said don't go. Don't go to school, It's too late. He wanted to go to school," Clark said. "He was going down the hall. I saw the side of his face and when he walked out the side door that was it."
Hours later she heard about the lockdown but heard nothing from her son. She said he often texted her during the school day.
"I just jumped in my car, I took off. I kept calling and he never answered and I knew right then something wasn't right. I knew it was my son, I knew something wasn't right," Clark said.
She said the outpouring of love for her son since the shooting has been overwhelming.
"I really appreciate all of that from the bottom of my heart. It lets me know the love that people had for my son. It’s amazing," Clark said.
She believes that what we need now is action against the violence that ended her son's life.
"All of these guns and all of that they need to put that stuff down. Guns kill people. My son did not deserve that. He was a good boy. He had the biggest smile. I mean I don't understand any of it," Clark said.