Family hopes video will lead to arrest of teen's murder

ATLANTA - The family of a high school graduate who was shot while trying to walk away said the violence must end.

"It's so hard, he was a good kid. it is so hard," sobbed mother Tamesha Williams-Torrance.

Her son, 18-year-old Joshua Torrance, was shot in the back as he ran from several young men who Atlanta Police say pulled a gun on the Best Academy graduate. 

"He was just a good kid, never messed with nobody, humbled, believed in God, loved God, " his mother told FOX 5's Aungelique Proctor

"I've never met a person like him, I was proud to be his father. I told him that every day. Do the right thing, respect people," Joshua's father Alvin Torrance told FOX 5 News.

When police got to the scene at the Peaks Apartments, they said Torrance was found shot in the back. Atlanta police found him behind a shed. Officers checked the grounds looking for bullets.

Police later released surveillance video from the apartment complex of a possible suspect.

The family of the dead teen calls his murder a senseless act. The family believes he was heeding a warning to "walk away from drama."

Torrance's uncle, Brian Keith Williams, believes envy may have played a role.

"I told him [Torrance] kids who don't want to make anything of themselves, will hate," Williams said. "I told him to just walk away."

Torrance may have been trying to do that but was unable to outrun a bullet. He was transported to Grady Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Torrance had just graduated from BEST Academy in Atlanta. He had dreams of becoming an architect, said his uncle, who noted he acquired $50,000 in academic scholarships and grants.

Sankofa Church of Christ Pastor Rev. Derrick Rice says we all need to mentor young people and let them know we care and their lives matter.

Investigators did not reveal a motive if they know one.