Londen Blake paused for a while and took several deep breaths before she began speaking. She stood at a podium before a group of reporters in a conference room at the offices of The Cochran Firm, the legal firm representing her. She dressed in black, wearing a necklace with a photo of her child, 13-year-old Karon Blake.

The press conference, held on Wednesday afternoon, was the first time Blake had spoken publicly about the killing of her son, who was fatally shot by D.C. Parks and Recreation employee Jason Lewis on Jan. 7.

“Children are children,” Blake said as she began her statement to the press. “Some of them grow up too fast. Some of them do things they’re not supposed to do. What I can say is that Karon came from a good home. I tried my best with him. But Jason Lewis – he had no right. He had no right. It could have went a whole different way.”

According to police, Lewis exited his home in Brookland armed with a gun around 4 a.m. that morning and saw two people “tampering with vehicles” parked on the street; He ended up firing several shots, including those that ultimately killed Londen Blake’s oldest son.

After weeks of speculation about the shooter — and vocal concern from the Blake family, D.C. lawmakers, and residents about the length of time it took for authorities to bring charges — Lewis turned himself into police on Tuesday after being charged with second-degree murder while armed.

On Tuesday, authorities released a detailed affidavit that described what detectives had learned about the shooting. According to the document, Lewis told police that he heard some people, whom he described as “youngsters,” outside his home in Brookland shortly before 4 a.m.

Lewis initially claimed to police that he’d fired only two shots from his gun after Karon allegedly made a “beeline” for him. But during their investigation, police discovered discrepancies in his story.

According to surveillance footage captured at the scene, Lewis fired three shots from his gun, not two – the first in the direction of a car attempting to flee the scene, and the final two at Karon. That first shot was key in establishing grounds for a second-degree murder charge, Police Chief Robert Contee said on Tuesday.

“The first shot that was fired was actually fired at someone who was sitting in a vehicle who was not an immediate threat,” Contee said.

It’s also unclear how close Karon actually got to Lewis; The detective who investigated the shooting wrote that Karon was running in front of Lewis’s home, but did not cross onto his property.

There is no evidence Karon was armed. In his final moments, the 13-year-old was pleading for his life, according to video footage police reviewed.

Karon said “I’m sorry,” “please don’t,” and “no” many times as Lewis shot him, according to the affidavit. He repeatedly yelled, “I am a kid” and “I am only 12.”

When asked on Wednesday how she felt when she found out about her son’s last words, Londen Blake said she was “devastated.”

“That hurt me to the core,” Blake said. “When I heard that yesterday, it broke me.”

Karon “wanted to grow old with his mother, with his siblings,” Blake said. She has three other children – a 9 year-old daughter and a pair of 6 year-old twins, a boy and a girl.

He was “the man of the house,” she said. “[Lewis] took him from me.”

Lewis, who will be held without bond as he awaits trial, has maintained his innocence, according to his lawyer. His attorney said in a statement that “once all the facts are heard, I believe that a jury will find that there was no crime here,” and added that his client, who dedicated his career to working with D.C. youth, was distraught over Karon’s death and offered condolences to his family.

On Wednesday, Londen Blake said she wanted to see Lewis convicted “to the highest.”

She also addressed some of the comments she had heard in the aftermath of the shooting, questioning what the young boy was doing out at 4 a.m.

“Would y’all feel better if it was at 4 p.m.?” she said. “A crime is a crime. He took my baby, my firstborn.”

Her attorney, Brian McDaniel, said that he wanted to see questions focused less on what Karon was doing that night – and more on what the adult in the situation did.

“It’s Mr. Lewis who’s responsible,” McDaniel said. “It’s Mr. Lewis who made the decision to shoot an unarmed 13-year-old boy.”

McDaniel said his firm was not working on a civil lawsuit at this time, and at the moment they are serving as advocates for Londen Blake as the criminal proceedings against Lewis proceed.