BELLEVILLE, Illinois — This Mother's Day, a Metro East mom is saying thank you through her pain.
Her son, eighth-grade football phenom Jaylon McKenzie, was shot and killed last weekend.
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"It helps to know that so many people cared about Jaylon,” Sukeena Gunner said Sunday.
Friends and family made sure she was cared for, too.
"The kids have been amazing. A lot of them showed up today with flowers and cards and bears and balloons, and I said I wasn't going to cry today, but it broke me down,” she said.
Jaylon was shot and killed last weekend while he was leaving a party. He was just 14 and already a nationally-recognized football player with college scholarship offers on the table.
"Friends of friends have called from Italy, Great Britain, Dubai,” Gunner said.
She wanted people to know how grateful she is for the support.
"It's just been actually mind-blowing,” she said.
She says several NFL players from the St. Louis area — Adoree Jackson of the Tennessee Titans, Markus Golden of the New York Giants and Terron Armstead of the New Orleans Saints — have sent their love and condolences.
The Dallas Cowboys' Ezekiel Elliott — who's from the Metro East — is paying for Jaylon's funeral next weekend.
"If he were here, I know that he would give those families the biggest hug and the biggest, prettiest smile that he could possibly give them to show his appreciation, and that's the same thing that I want to do,” Gunner said.
A vigil is planned for 5 p.m. Wednesday at the East St. Louis Clyde C. Jordan Stadium by East St. Louis Senior High School.
A GoFundMe for the family is available here.