UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. - A University City mother is seeking justice for her son after he was shot and killed over the weekend while cutting grass.

The shooting occurred on Julian Avenue in University City on Aug. 2, where police responded to reports of gunfire around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Vernon Bruce, 35, was taken to the hospital but later died from his injuries.

Yellow and blue balloons filled the sky over Heman Park on Thursday evening as friends and family gathered to remember Bruce.

The vigil was a poignant reminder of the loss felt by those who knew him.

Bruce's mother, Veronica Barrett, has vowed to speak out until the person responsible for her son's death is caught.

“Regardless of what he did, he was well loved and to gun him down like nobody cared about him. Yes they did and he will be advocated for till there’s justice for my son," Barrett said.

University City Police released a statement to FOX 2 regarding their investigation into Bruce's death.

"The University City Police Department is actively investigating this tragic incident," police told FOX 2. "We have pursued and continue to pursue all leads, and we are committed to holding those responsible accountable. While we understand the concerns raised by the family, we firmly deny any involvement or wrongdoing by this department in connection to the victim's past or his recent death."

Barrett says Bruce expressed fear for his life in the days leading up to the shooting.

“His words to everybody was that ‘They are going to kill me.’ It’s like he felt he was going to die," Barrett explained. "He said, 'They are going to kill me.' I didn’t know prior to that he had been chased down by two people, had somebody pull up on him and put the gun fingers at him. Come Saturday, he was gunned down from the back. The cowards couldn’t even face him.”

Despite the ongoing investigation, police have not yet identified any suspects and are urging anyone with information to come forward.

They have asked the public to contact them or Crime Stoppers with any leads.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KTVI. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KTVI staff before being published.