Mom of 2-year-old shot, killed in Prince George's County: 'He was the person I was holding onto to keep going'
Heartbroken mother speaks out after 2-year-old son killed in Prince George's County shooting
The mother of a two-year-old who was shot and killed in Prince George’s County this week spoke exclusively to FOX 5 Sunday. Rose Carceras, 17, was injured in the shooting but Jeremy Poou-Caceres did not survive his injuries.
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. - The mother of a two-year-old who was shot and killed in Prince George’s County this week spoke exclusively to FOX 5 Sunday.
Jeremy Poou-Caceres had just celebrated his second birthday with his family on Jan. 12.
"Jeremy was a child so full of joy and love," a GoFundMe set up for his funeral expenses read.
He and his mother were on a walk near the Bedford Station Apartments in the 1400 block of Kanawha Street in Langley Park Thursday night when they got caught in the crossfire between two groups.
Rose Carceras, 17, was left with non-life-threatening injuries. She was shot in the leg and will require surgery but expected to be ok while Jeremy was taken to an area hospital. But he didn’t survive.
She’s obviously heartbroken and devastated by the loss of her young son. She says she has a supportive family propping her up but they’re in pain too.
"It’s not easy. Not only for me but for my family because Jeremy was not only my son, but he was also most of, like, with my two aunts, they were like the mother of my son too. They always took care of him and it was hard for me because he was the person I was holding onto to keep going with my life and now I don’t have him," Caceres said.
RELATED: Toddler shot, killed in Prince George's County, young mom hospitalized
Carceras says her son wasn’t a huge talker but was a sweet little boy who loved Cocomelon and breakfast — his favorite drink was orange juice and he loved having eggs.
Prince George’s County police say the community "stepped up like no other" and led them to the arrests of 33-year-old Israel Fuentes and 28-year-old Johnny Alejandro Turcios. Both are in county jail.
"They were cooperative, helped our detectives develop information and evidence to get some arrests in this case," Prince George's County Assistant Police Chief Vernon Hale III said. "Again, we're not done yet. We made two arrests, but there's two more out there … These are the cases we lose sleep over."
Police say the two men were riding with others in a vehicle when they opened fire on another group.
They’ve indicated their investigation is active and they’re still searching for the other people in the car with these two men and wanting to talk to the other group of people they appeared to be firing at.