LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The family and friends of 17-year-old Berkley Parks paid their respects on Saturday afternoon.
Parks was shot and killed on Aug. 22 on Pemberton Lane near Stolle Poole Court.
"He has always been very caring," says his aunt, Suzann Parks Sparks. "Always very polite. So very funny. Loved his family."
"He always answered with yes ma'am," says his aunt, Karla Gregory-Martin. "He was always ready to help someone else."
Family members say Parks always had a smile on his face, but he knew how to make others smile too.
"I was his Aunt Su Su," said Sparks. "Every time he saw you, 'Aunt Su Su I love you.' Every time I FaceTimed him, he's smiling, Aunt Su Su. He was excellent. He was a star."
The 17-year-old loved his family. When asked what Parks' hobbies were, his family said he loved his family.
"Even when his mother couldn't attend family reunions, Berkley got a ride so he could attend the family reunion," Gregory-Martin says.
Parks loved to cook and planned to attend culinary school after graduating high school, according to his obituary. Now his life is cut short because of an issue hurting communities. Lexington police say another juvenile is responsible for killing Parks.
"No one wins here," Gregory-Martin says. "No one has won anything. No parent has a child coming out of this okay. And when two people have a child they will never see again."
"This is gut-wrenching," Sparks says. "I don't have the words to say how awful this is. Just pure evil."
Lexington police have listed nearly 30 homicide investigations this year. Parks' family urges everyone to be a part of the solution so nobody has to lose a loved one this way again.
"You see something, know something, you need to go talk to the authorities," Sparks says. "It's too many deaths. This is tragic. And it really needs to change."
