DETROIT – Justin Dorsey was 14 years old when he saw his mother take her last breath.
Latrese Morris-Dorsey was shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend in 2017. Since then, her son overcame many obstacles -- his latest is graduating from high school and getting accepted to college.
“When the incident first happened, it hurt. It was a shock. It hurt, it hurt a lot,” Justin said.
He said it’s on the football field where he fights a lot of his battles -- whether athletic or the biggest fight of his life, which was watching his mother die.
The incident happened on Father’s Day 2017 on Avon Avenue in Detroit.
“I hear the screaming and it just stops. I walked into the living room and my little sister comes running out, ‘Mom just got shot, mom just got shot.’ That exact moment, I ran into the living room and I see my mom on the ground, sitting down dead,” Justin said.
He called his dad and 911, but it was too late.
“I got about 10 towels, I put them on my mom and I’m holding her. She looked at me and she said ‘J…' Right when she said ‘J’, blood came out of her mouth and that’s when I knew she passed away,” he said.
He addressed his mother’s ex-boyfriend in court.
“I told him that it hurt. How can you say you love someone that much but do something like that to her?” he said.
Today, Justin is a high school gradute. He got accepted to Ferris State University, where he will play football and study physical therapy,
“My mom was a physical therapy assistant. She cared about people and I want to care about people just like her,” he said.
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