'Wrong place, wrong time': Grandmother, coach mourn 15-year-old killed in Augusta shooting

The grandmother and the coach of a 15-year-old star athlete recently killed in an Augusta shooting said the community has lost a young man with incredible potential and called on local officials to make a change.

Zaire Person was shot Thursday night on the 3400 block of Old McDuffie Road, according to the Richmond County Sheriff's Office. He later died from his injuries.

Person's grandmother said he was a diligent student at Butler High School and wasn't ever in any trouble.

"I never thought this could happen because Zaire was a straight A student from middle school to high school. He was perfect," Borders said.

What hurt the family the most was that Person wasn't even supposed to be in Augusta on the day of the shooting. Borders said her grandson was supposed to be with her in Korea, visiting a family member stationed there in the military.

"He was on his way to Korea, but his passport had messed up dates, so they would not let him come," she said. "That's why he was still there."

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Wrong place, wrong time

Richmond County investigators said there was a large party involving minors that took place at several locations in the Augusta area Thursday night.

Borders explained it was a "splat party," which is a party where children play with water guns.

"His friends [told his mother, Khrysten Cunningham] this is just a party. 'We're on spring break. Let him come, let him come,'" she said. "[Cunningham] felt bad about him not being able to come to Korea, so she let him go to the party. ... She is devastated."

Borders said teens from another neighborhood decided to go to the party and brought real guns.

"What hurts me the most was some kids that didn't have anything going for them took someone away who was going to be great," she said.

She said she believes her grandson was not the intended target of the shooting.

"He wasn't even supposed to be there," Borders said. "It was just the wrong place, wrong time. He didn't even know the people. He just happened to be invited to a party."

Borders was on the flight to Korea when the shooting happened. When her flight landed, her son told her not to turn on her phone and pulled her aside to break the news.

"He said, 'Zaire is gone,'" she said. "That was my first grandchild."

'A kid that's beyond measure'

Person strived to be the best at everything he did, which included playing basketball and football.

Michael Myles, Person's long-time coach, said they first met when Person was 9 years old.

"We met at a track meet for the City of Augusta," Myles said. "I said he was fast and I had to pick him up and put him on my team. A couple of months later, I saw him practicing on the 12 youth team and I thought, 'He's only 9.' We won the rec championship that year, and ever since then we've been together.

"We were playing the semifinal game right before the championship and Zaire caught an interception and ran for about 55 yards for a touchdown. As he was running, I felt someone grabbing on my leg and his little brother said, 'Coach, that's my big brother.' That moment was just priceless."

While Person loved playing sports, he had to work hard to make up for his short stature. Myles described Person as "a kid with big ambitions" and said he had the heart of a lion.

"I believe sports was so important to him because he was always the smallest athlete," Myles said. "He had a chip on his shoulder and he had to show everyone that, 'Hey, I can play with the big guys.' He was just a born leader. I only knew him for three months before he started playing with me and it's like a lifetime."

Myles was one of the first to learn of the shooting.

"I was at work and his mother called me about four times," he said. "She said, 'My son's been shot, please call me Coach Mike.' I rushed straight to the hospital. There wasn't any second guessing. I didn't even get the chance to clock out. I just left because that's how important Zaire has been to me and my family. He's a kid that's beyond measure."

Borders said Person wanted to go to college for sports medicine.

"He worked so hard in school because he wanted to go to college," she said. "He wanted to be able to show kids that you can play sports and also make the grades. He was always about learning."

Myles said Person's work ethic inspired those around him.

"Every year the athletes had to bring us progress reports and I lost so much money because he always had A's," he said.

Aside from school and sports, Borders said Person had a gentle heart, prioritizing time with family and always making new friends.

"Zaire would spend his weekends with his grandfather cooking and spending time with him," she said. "He was the type of kid who didn't care about school rivalries. He had kids from every school spend the night at his house because they all wanted to be around him."

Finding justice for Zaire

Borders, who said she has worked with the justice system for 25 years, said she has faith her grandson's killer will be brought to justice.

She added parents need to keep an eye on their children and make sure they don't have weapons.

"Parents need to pay attention to their kids and what they are doing, what they are saying and how they are acting," Borders said.

Myles said the community as a whole needs to do more to keep kids safe.

"As a youth coach, and also a mentor, I think we need to come together as a community – with our pastors, our city leaders our city officials, and come up with a plan to keep our kids safe and to keep our community safe," he said. "Our kids have so much potential, but for some reason, we are letting them down. We have to figure out what we can do to be proactive for the youth."

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Family, coach mourn 15-year-old athlete killed in Augusta shooting