In a monumentally cruel twist of fate, a 17-year-old shot to death in Austell last week has been identified as a boy whose mother was gunned down seven years earlier.
Kenneth Collier Jr. had spent much of his young life grappling with his mother’s death a day before his 10th birthday, his father told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The entrepreneurial kid with the big personality took on a weighty role after his mother was killed in her car in a 2017 homicide case that was never solved, Kenneth Collier Sr. said.
A proud father, Collier Sr. said his son used his adolescent years to advocate against gun violence, gaining the attention of politicians and celebrities like former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and rapper Jeezy.
Credit: Family Photo
Credit: Family Photo
Collier Jr. was shot in the chest Jan. 9 at the Residence at Riverside apartments in Cobb County, authorities said. Cobb police released initial information about the shooting but would not confirm the victim’s identity because he was a minor. His identity was later confirmed by an incident report obtained by the AJC.
Collier Sr., who recently moved to McDonough from Atlanta, said it took him about 45 minutes to get to Grady Memorial Hospital after hearing his son had been shot. By that time, it was too late. Doctors told him his son’s heart had stopped and they weren’t able to save him.
No one has been arrested in the case and Cobb police have not shared any further details on the investigation, citing privacy rules related to the victim’s status as a minor. The incident report did not include any new information about the circumstances that led to the shooting, so it’s not clear if Collier Jr. was a bystander or played some other role.
Collier Sr. said he did not have many details about the night of the shooting either, other than hearing his son had gone to a friend’s house. The teenager had spent the week with relatives away from home, visiting the half-siblings who shared the same mother. His father had been giving him space.
In December 2017, Collier Jr.‘s mother, Tamika Trimble, was killed in a coordinated shooting in southeast Atlanta. At least two shooters fired on her car from two separate locations, officials said at the time, and two cars left the scene. One of Trimble’s seven children, a 1-year-old daughter, was unharmed in the back seat.
When Collier Jr. woke up on the morning of his 10th birthday, he learned his mother had been killed.
Instead of shutting down or retreating from the world, he responded by stepping into the spotlight, according to multiple family members who spoke to the AJC.
“Kenneth was an amazing kid,” his aunt, Chasity Collier, said. “He has always had a personality that can light up a room. He stood out. He wasn’t shy. He just always commanded attention.”
After his mother’s death, Collier Jr. spoke in front of the Atlanta City Council and met with Abrams, his aunt said. He also started a business called Button Buddy that made custom buttons sharing positive social messages.
Credit: Family Photo
Credit: Family Photo
“When my mom passed, I didn’t know how to express myself without talking, so I thought about putting art and something no one else does together, and I started my business,” he said in a 2019 social media interview with MSC Media.
That same year, Collier Jr. used his business as inspiration to write a book titled “Button Buddy Stops Bullying: And So Can You.” His father said he sold hundreds of copies, listing the book on Amazon and hustling in person.
That drive gained the attention of local political leaders, earning a proclamation from the City of Atlanta and recognition from the city council’s then-President Felicia Moore.
“He loved being on the stage, performing, speaking,” Collier Sr. said. “He’d been like that since he was a little kid. ... No matter what, he always kept a smile. He always had the right words to make other people smile.”
Credit: Family Photo
Credit: Family Photo
But underneath the fun-loving, gregarious personality, Collier Jr.‘s family members said he struggled to come to terms with his mother’s death. The fact that the case remained unsolved kept the precocious kid from finding closure, Collier Sr. said.
At the heart of Collier Jr.‘s book was the idea that bullies are often struggling to work through their own emotions.
“When his mom passed away, he had so many emotions and feelings, he didn’t know how to deal with it,” Collier Sr. said. “He used to get into arguments, blurting (things) out, reacting and fighting people... So the book was about inspiring teachers and parents about how to deal with kids who are going through their emotions.”
Both Chasity Collier, the victim’s aunt, and Collier Sr. said the support of their family and the community has been a salve in the wake of Collier Jr.‘s death. On Monday night, more than 100 people attended a candlelight vigil in the teen’s honor. Dickens and Jeezy both called family members to express their condolences, Chasity Collier said, purely because both remembered meeting him.
“My son had a good heart,” Collier Sr. said. “He had a smile, he had a grin that would just bring up your day, no matter what was going on.”
Despite his outwardly sunny disposition, the lack of closure haunted Collier Jr. during the years after his mother’s death, though the teen’s father has chosen to find a silver lining.
“I think I can say he’s with his mom. He’s in heaven,” Collier Sr. said. “That’s truly what I believe, and I feel like he’s at peace, because I don’t think he was going to (find) peace until he figured out who murdered his mom.”
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