“You took somebody who was loved”: Grieving mother seeks answers after 17-year-old son killed in Bloomingdale

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - A grieving mother is pleading for answers after her 17-year-old son, Antonio Thornton Jr., known as TJ, was killed outside a Bloomingdale apartment complex Sunday morning.

The tragedy has disturbed the community as the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has taken over the case.

“They just left him there, they left my baby there, they left him out there for hours,” said Tyesha Abdullah, the mother of TJ.

The pain in her voice was unmistakable as she described the devastating loss of her first-born, only son, and best friend.

On Sunday, around 7:45 a.m., GBI agents were called to the Magnolia Lane Apartments after a 911 call came in reporting a young man’s body found outside.

The victim was later identified as 17-year-old Antonio Thornton Jr., but to his family, he was TJ.

“Why would you take his life?” Tyesha said, struggling to make sense of the situation. “If they did that, you could have called the police and said anything, but they left him. They left my baby.”

The family says the loss is immeasurable.

“You took somebody who was loved,” Tyesha said, her voice breaking... “You took somebody who had this whole future ahead of him.”

TJ was an honor student at Archer High, where he played basketball and was actively involved in his church. He also helped his mother run her business and was set to graduate soon. He had dreams of attending college and becoming an engineer.

“He planned on going to school to be an engineer,” Tyesha remembered. “Now my baby can’t walk across the stage. He can’t go to school. He’s not going to get married. I’m never going to hear from my baby again.”

Tyesha and TJ had a close bond, having been baptized together just a year ago. The grief of losing him is made worse by the fact that she hasn’t yet seen him.

“I haven’t even gone to see my son yet because I don’t know if I’ll be able to see my son like that,” Tyesha said. “This will be the last time I’ll be able to see him.”

No arrests have been made in the case, and authorities are asking anyone with information to come forward.

Tyesha is urging the public to help bring justice to her son, though she knows it won’t bring him back.

“It won’t bring my baby back, but it’ll give me a little bit of closure,” she said. “The people that did this to my son are still on the streets, and they’ll shoot somebody else and kill somebody else.”

She added, “If you will leave him out there on the ground and go on with your life, like you didn’t take a brother, like you didn’t take a son, like you didn’t take a friend, it’s scary because you’ll do it to somebody else.”

TJ’s body has been sent to the GBI Crime Lab in Pooler for an official autopsy.

Authorities are urging anyone with information about the case to come forward. Tips can be submitted anonymously to the Bloomingdale Police or the GBI tip line.

GBI Tip Line: You can call 1-800-597-8477 to submit anonymous tips to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation about this case or any other information you may have. You can also submit tips online via the GBI website or through the “See Something, Send Something” mobile app. (GBI Investigative Division)

Bloomingdale, Georgia Police Department: You can contact 912-748-8302. (Bloomingdale Police Department)