MATHIS, Texas — "I know you didn't mean to hurt mama's heart... but you did,” Stephanie Black said to a photo of her son, Deshoune Pope.
Deshoune, just 14 years old, died Saturday in what Mathis Police are calling an accidental shooting on the 800 block of Olivo Street.
His mother says he left to hang out with friends that day — but never came home.
According to Black, her son was with four friends when things went terribly wrong.
"Four of the boys have told me we were going fishing, we were getting ready to go fishing and there was a gun and he picked it up,” she said.
That gun — and a single moment — would change everything.
"And I know my kid, he went to take a picture holding that gun. I don't know how and what made him pull the trigger,” she said.
Deshoune was more than a student at Mathis High School. He was an athlete, a jokester and a teen with a big heart. Black said in town, he was known for riding his beloved horse, Avacado.
"Most people at Mathis know my kid from the boy with the horse,” she said.
As the town mourns, Black says the outpouring of support has brought her some comfort.
"It feels really good to see how many lives my kid actually touched,” she said.
Now, through her heartbreak, Black has a message for other teens — and a warning for her tragic loss to serve as a lesson for the youth when it comes to the risks of guns.
“Keep your hands off of these guns, they're not cool and they'll never be cool,” she said.
“I don't need these kids to feel guilty for an accident. I just need them to keep their hands off of these guns.”
If you’re interested in donating to the family and funeral expenses, you can. The family will also be hosting a vigil at the Mathis High School parking lot on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
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