INDEPENDENCE — A Northern Kentucky family is remembering their loved one after police said he was shot and killed Friday in Independence.
Police said Seth Burns was killed as a result of an ongoing dispute between two groups of people. During that dispute, police said a 17-year-old fired two shots, one of which struck Burns in the torso.
"He didn't even know them. He had no idea who they are, but he was trying to protect somebody and I'm very, very proud of him for doing so. It just cost him his life," said Barbie Burns, Seth's mom. "He was protecting his girlfriend and her friend."
Barbie Burns said she was expecting a call from her son about what he wanted to eat for dinner Friday, but instead received a different call.
"We had a call from his girlfriend," she said. "She literally just yelled my name and she just kept telling me that he was shot, he was shot."
Barbie Burns said Seth was talking immediately after the shooting. He was airlifted to UC Medical Center where doctors worked on him for two hours, she said. He died at the hospital.
RELATED | Police: 1 dead, 17-year-old charged after dispute leads to shooting in Independence
Now, the family is planning a funeral and remembering a life taken too soon.
"There's not a better human being on this planet honestly," Barbie Burns said. "He's just amazing, he was absolutely amazing."
It's not just his mom who saw him this way, but his siblings too. Barbie Burns said Seth was the oldest of six kids.
"He was coming, no matter what type of argument we were in. He'd always show up," his brother Gage Clark said.
It turns out, he was showing up for more people than his family realized.
"Everybody loves Seth. There are so many people that have reached out, that I don't even know," said Barbie Burns. "People have sent us pictures that we didn't have, videos that we didn't have. So it really means a lot honestly."
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