12-year-old murder victim laid to rest as killer remains on the run

ATLANTA - Through tears and anguish, family, friends, and other loved ones shared their fondest memories of David Mack during a service Wednesday at Renaissance Church Christ in southwest Atlanta.

"He used to always smile and laugh. It was never a dull moment when you had David around. He was always caring and loving and you didn't have to ask him twice to do stuff," said a cousin who cried as she remembered watching David grow up in his grandmother's care.

David was gunned down a week ago by a child killer who remains on the run. It's still hard to fathom for the loved ones forced to say goodbye as they stood just a few yards away from his casket and a monitor with a rolling collage of life cut short.

"I love you, man. I'm always going to keep a place for you right here," said another relative as he wept and gestured toward his own heart.

David was last seen on February 9, 2021. He told his grandmother, Glenda Mack, he was going to a friend's house in southwest Atlanta to play basketball. He never returned and Ms. Mack reported filed a missing person's report with Atlanta police that night. Family members canvassed the area near Cascade Road the next day and found his body behind a vacant home on Shirley Street--less than a mile from his grandmother's home. APD investigators said he'd been shot several times.

"This justice is going to come. We just gotta have justice," said a family relative.

Crime Stoppers Atlanta is offering a $10,000 reward for information on the murder of David Mack. Loved ones hope the funds will help generate a suspect description and a motive for the vicious shooting. The family has also set up a page to gather funds to cover Mack's funeral expenses.

WATCH: FOX 5 Atlanta live news coverage

_____

Sign up for FOX 5 email alerts

Download the FOX 5 Atlanta app for breaking news and weather alerts.