Aug. 29—Life for Stace Sullivan will never be the same since the fatal stabbing of her son, Kamren Faison, less than two weeks ago in front of a McDonald's in Havre de Grace.

Sullivan's sister had been the one to call, saying her son, just 17 years old, was gone

In a phone interview with The Aegis on Monday, Sullivan said she was in jail when Kamren was 6 months old.

"When he was a baby, he was so big and fat, and he had these rosy little cheeks, and dark, curly, silky black hair. He was just so damn cute," Sullivan said. "He's always been headstrong, very intelligent. He had a severely infectious laugh."

Kamren lived with his father, Charles, and his grandmother in Aberdeen. When Sullivan was released from jail, she decided that it would be best for her son to stay with his father.

"I didn't want to rip my son away from everything he knew," Sullivan said. "So, I let his dad keep keep him and I got him on the weekends."

Currently, Sullivan lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and has nine children, including an 11-month old with her current husband. Kamren was her third child and first son. He and his older sisters had a close bond, their mother said.

"They called him their little big brother since he was taller them," Sullivan said, laughing. She said her son was 6′2″ and 240 pounds.

When Kamren was younger, his mother said, he had academic struggles and was bullied in school. When he finally fought back, Sullivan said, he got in trouble. She asked his father to send him to her, but, instead, Charles Faison moved Kamren to another school.

No matter the distance, Sullivan tried to be there for her son.

"We had a good relationship," Sullivan said. "Anytime he needed something, he called me. He was amazing."

The day things changed

The stabbing was a result of an ongoing dispute that followed Kamren as his father moved them from Aberdeen to Havre de Grace, according to Sullivan.

"Something happened, they had a falling out," Sullivan said of the two 17-year-old boys who have been charged in his killing. "They were trying to bully him. It just kept escalating and escalating."

On Aug. 21, Sullivan said, Kamren stepped in to stop a fight between a group of girls and a female friend.

He's "a hero slain, basically," his mother said, "trying to help somebody else."

Sullivan does not know the names of the suspects. Police are not naming them because they are minors.

Havre de Grace Police Department Cpl. Philip Goertz said the suspects and a female juvenile were in one vehicle and Kamren and another female juvenile were in a second vehicle when their paths crossed in the town that day. According to witness reports, the occupants of both vehicles were throwing items out their windows at one another while the vehicles were moving, Goertz said. Sullivan, however, says her son was not throwing things.

"They grabbed a turkey carving knife," Sullivan said. "They left that house with intentions on either killing my son or doing severe bodily damage to him."

Kamren pulled into the McDonald's parking lot at 802 Pulaski Highway because his car became disabled after the suspects rammed into the back of it, according to Sullivan.

When the suspects' car pulled up, Goertz said, two fights broke out — one between the suspects and Kamren and one between the girls. Kamren was stabbed during the altercation with the two suspects, and he attempted to go into the restaurant for help before collapsing, Goertz said.

Sullivan said her son ran toward the drive-thru window to ask for help, but the suspects caught up to him and stabbed him over 11 times, severing the artery in his right leg. She credits a stranger for applying a makeshift tourniquet to her son's leg, which she said kept him alive long enough to reach the hospital.

Kamren was treated at the scene by medics and transported by Maryland State Police medevac helicopter to Shock Trauma in Baltimore, where he later died.

"We all thought he was going to be okay. I mean, he was in one of the best medical facilities," Sullivan said. "The hospital did everything that they could."

Sullivan sends her condolences to the parents of the two suspects arrested for the murder of her son.

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"I understand that they can still go see their sons and everything, but their sons' lives are ruined forever," Sullivan said. "This didn't just take my son's life and ruin our family, It ruined all three boys' lives and all of our families."

Though she empathizes with the parents of the suspects, Sullivan wants everyone to know that despite negative comments on social media about Kamren, her son did not deserve to die.

"My son did not deserve that. No child deserves to die that way. Anybody who knew him or even got to meet him, he left a lasting impression on them. I'm just sorry that nobody else is ever going to get to know him, especially his younger siblings."

A GoFundMe has been set up by Sullivan for help in getting her and her family to Maryland for the boy's funeral. The fundraiser has a $400 goal.

A separate GoFundMe was set up on behalf of Kamren's family but was disabled after reaching $7,425 in donations that organizer Vernon Bradford said have been given to the family for burial expenses. Sullivan says that she has not received any money from this fundraiser but she appreciates the support the community has given to her son's family.

Harford Lanes in Aberdeen also collected money for Kamren's family. A manager at the bowling alley confirmed that Kamren's father bowls in a league but declined to comment further.

A vigil for Kamren will be held at 6 p.m., Wednesday at the McDonald's. Services will be held Saturday at Evangelistic Church of Deliverance at 340 Congress Ave. in Havre de Grace. A viewing will be held from 11-11:45 a.m. and the funeral will be from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Originally Published: Aug 29, 2023 at 4:47 pm