A year later: Murder of Andrew Faust Jr.

FORT MYERS, Fla.- Hearts are heavy in Dunbar Wednesday night.

Next Tuesday marks exactly one year since 5-year-old Andrew Faust Jr. was killed in a drive-by shooting.

One year later, his mother, Toyetta Simpson, is committed to stopping the violence in the community.

“When he ran in to the room and I remember the last two gunshots going off and I remember him jumping, he jumped. And then I thought that it was because it was of the sound, but it was because of the bullet hitting him,” said Simpson.

Bullets flew through Simpson’s Dunbar home in Oct. 2014, striking Faust Jr. and killing him.

“He just said ‘ouch mommy,’ he said ‘ouch mommy.’ And in my mind, I was just hoping that he was playing,” said Simpson.

“How am I going to bury my baby? How am I asking myself this question? I never thought those words would leave my lips,” she said.

As the anniversary of Faust Jr.’s murder nears, there are no suspects in jail. There have been more shootings and deaths in Dunbar and the culture of silence keeps killers on the streets.

“I just thought in my mind that he was just going to be another black kid that lost his life to violence in Dunbar,” said Simpson.

Thomas Edison and Terrance Irons were charged in Faust Jr.’s murder, but a key witness in the case changed her story, forcing the State Attorney’s Office to drop the charges.

Tuesday, Oct. 13 will mark a year since the 5-year-old’s life was cut too short.

“That date, it means nothing to me because I don’t only miss him on the 13th, I miss him every day,” said Simpson.