Mother says teen son died defending girlfriend from her brother: 'He was always a protector'

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. - A family in Fayetteville is asking for justice after their loved one was shot and killed on Thursday.

The Fayette County Sheriff's Office was called just before 3 p.m. to a home on Allenwood Road. There, deputies found 18-year-old Jeremiah McCrae with multiple gunshot wounds. He later died at the hospital.

Deputies say McCrae was armed with an AR-15 weapon after a dispute with his girlfriend's brother. They say the brother fired his own weapon at McCrae.

However, McCrae's family says there was more to the story. They say he was trying to protect his girlfriend at the time.

"He was always a protector of everybody. He was smart, and he loved his family, and he loved hard," Jeremiah's mother Shaquil McCrae said.

"He wasn't the bad guy. He wasn't perfect either, but I know he wasn't a bad guy. Jeremiah had a good heart," Jeremiah's uncle Sayquan Tilly added.

The Fayette County Sheriff's Office has not named the shooter or said if charges will be filed. McCrae's family wants more to be done.

"I want to see justice for my son. I want to see the way we all see him, as a superstar, was a loving, and kind person that doesn't go looking for trouble," his mother said. 

The sheriff's office says no one else inside the home was injured at the time of the shooting. Deputies are continuing to investigate the incident.