Teen's Birthday Post Turns Into Foreshadowing of Death

Teen Armond Latimore posted online he was glad to make it to 17 just an hour before being killed
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 21, 2018 11:44 AM CDT
He Expressed Relief at Making It to 17, Then Was Shot
Armond was gunned down just an hour after his celebratory Facebook post.   (Getty Images/fstop123)

Chandra Payne had made a run to the store to get ice cream for her son's 17th birthday, while he'd headed out to pick up some Chinese food. Just a few minutes after they parted on Saturday afternoon, however, the St. Louis mom got a terrible phone call, she tells the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Armond Latimore had been shot outside the restaurant where he'd gone to pick up their meal. The teen, who died at a local hospital of his injuries, had just posted on Facebook, about an hour before he was gunned down, a now heart-rending message: "Thru all the bulls--- I den been thru I'm just glad I can say I made it to see 17," he wrote, adding the hashtag "#MYDAY."

It's not clear what specific troubles Armond was referencing in his post, but Payne tells the Post-Dispatch that after he was killed, she found a letter in his bedroom that talked about him being bullied; Payne says Armond had never discussed any bullying issues with anyone in their immediate family. She also notes that some people have pointed out recent pics on his Facebook page showing him clutching wads of cash, standing with what appears to be a gun peeking out from his waistband, and even a post of support for a teen accused of murder. But Payne says her son was a "helping-hand child" who "always made [money] the right way." Heavy.com reports the Aug. 18 Facebook status wasn't the first time Armond had referenced staying alive, with a Fourth of July post similarly noting: "An i still ain dead yet." Police, who are looking into the shooting, say they don't yet have a suspect. (More St. Louis stories.)

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