It’s the call no loved one wants to receive, but for the family of 15-year-old La’Ron Henderson, it’s the call that never came.
"Nobody could tell us where the child is," said La’Ron’s aunt, Shanea Jones.
"Someone’s child was shot, that’s all we knew," said another family member. "We need answers now."
Within an hour of classes letting out, La’Ron was gunned down in an alley just blocks from Forest Park High School. Police held a press conference following the deadly shooting, but the family said they were never notified. Instead, they were forced to frantically put the pieces together all on their own.
"No one has called us yet to tell us that he is dead, we have found out everything that we know from calling people. No one has called us yet," said a family member.
The only one to deliver the tragic news was one of La’Ron’s former teachers.
"She identified him over the phone to his mother like, that was La’Ron," said another one of La'Ron's aunts.
The news sent the family scrambling.
"We were running from the examiner's office, to Sinai, to University of Maryland, to the detectives office, St. Agnes, no one had a child. No one had this baby," said Jones.
Feeling left in the dark and desperate for answers, the family meet with school officials and investigators the next day.
When the meeting ended, Jones said she felt communication was continuing falling short.
"Everybody seemed irritated that we’re asking questions," said Jones. "What we expected was sympathy."
Baltimore City Schools told FOX 45 that because the student was shot off campus, it was up to the police department to contact the family.
Meanwhile, the Baltimore City Police Department sent the following explanation:
Unfortunately, members of the public are not bound by the same rules as investigators. After the tragic murder of Laron Henderson, it appears adults and teenagers took to social media with the identity of the victim. Investigators are duty-bound to ensure deceased and next-of-kin information is accurate and that sensitivity is shown when and where that information is delivered. Homicide investigators are utilizing information gathered from social media to create a timeline before and after the shooting. Investigators would like to speak with the individuals who knew about the identity of the victim before law enforcement.
"It's like push it under the rug, don’t say anything," said Jones.
Still not satisfied with what they’re calling a lack of notice and information, the family continued to search over the crime scene themselves, asking each other - How did this happen?
"Dying killing and shooting, this is not normal," said Jones.
This left them wondering - What’s been done to stop it from happening again?
"We need to stop glorifying this and we need to stop normalizing this, this is not normal, not one part of this is normal," said Jones.
Jones said at just 15-years-old, La'Ron was already 6'6". She also said he was incredibly kind, which is why they called him their gentle giant. None of his family members could think of any reason someone would want to hurt him.
No suspects have been named. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call police at 410-396-2100. Those who want to remain anonymous can always call the Metro Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-866-7LOCK-UP.