AUGUSTA, GA. (WJBF)- A balloon release took place at Hillcrest Memorial Park for 8-year-old Arbrie Anthony who passed away one year ago.
“She was just full of life, she was full of life– you can’t take nothing from her, you know. She was just Arbrie,” Anthony’s aunt Portia Tanksley and sister Zykiriyah Bowers said.
It was a hard day for Anthony’s family when she was taken from them in the front yard of their home during a drive-by shooting.
“Think before you do anything because it affects the families. She was loved very much, and I just want people to just put the guns down,” Anthony’s aunt Jamila McDaniel said.
Her family told NewsChannel 6, she was unapologetically herself.
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“Arbrie was just, all around, sweet. She was a tomboy, um, she loved for me to pick her up. She always used to love McDonalds and purple Powerade,” Anthony’s aunt Portia Tanksley said.
Since the incident, the family has made it their goal to get justice.
But today was a day to remember Arbrie with loved ones.
Purple balloons were released to represent Arbrie and her favorite color, and as the family continues to move forward, they keep Arbrie at the front of their hearts.
“She just was an all-around sweet little girl. She loved to dance, loved to get on TikTok, and she loved her family,” Tanksley said.
They just want people to think about the impact gun violence makes on those that remain standing.
“Stop the unnecessary gun violence. Stop trying to prove a point because you took a life from us. It’s when ya’ll do this gun violence it affects the families, and we have been broken for a whole year. We will never be right,” McDaniel said.
