Suwanee Police said in a statement after the incident that officers immediately started searching the area thoroughly for a suspect. The Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office and the Gwinnett County Police assisted in the search, but so far there have been no arrests.

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Authorities have remained mostly mum about the case, due to the sensitivity of the investigation. The teen’s family, however, said that he had no known enemies and was his mother’s best friend, often spending time with her and telling her “I love you,” each time he talked to her on the phone, NBC 11 Alive’s Kaitlyn Ross, who pushed the case in the spotlight, reports.

“Slade Petty loved Maple Bacon cake for his birthday every year,” Ross wrote. “He never hung up the phone without saying, “I love you Momma.” He was sweet and sensitive and funny.”

“I have only this morning been able to look at my sons picture. It hurts so bad. I am in shock and trying to process it all,” Petty’s mother, Kelly, wrote on her Facebook page.

The family is now offering an additional $8,000, added to a $2,000 reward provided by CrimeStoppers, for information that leads to the apprehension of the person or people responsible for Petty’s death.

“The family of William Slade Petty has contributed an additional $8,000 to Crime Stoppers $2,000 Reward, bringing the total to $10,000,” Suwanee Police Lt. Robert Thompson said.

According to Thompson, Petty’s death marks the first murder in Suwanee in over a decade. The last one occurred in May 2010 when a double murder-suicide happened at the same apartment complex where Perry was killed.