A devastated mum learned that her 15-year-old son had been murdered after reading R.I.P. tributes to him on Facebook.
Nikkita Milledge's son Anthony was shot at 1pm on Saturday, and just minutes later tributes started to flood in.
Anthony, who had been spending the night with a friend on Friday, was shot twice outside an apartment in Indianapolis, Indiana, US.
Nikkita said: "Someone put on Facebook, "RIP Anthony, I will miss you" and then the phone calls started coming in to my house and cell phone."
The messages on Facebook alerted her to her son's death even before police had identified the teenager's body.
She told local news she had been trying to call her son at about 1.50pm, after he failed to return home when she was expecting him.
But, when she checked online to find out where he was, she made the tragic discovery that he was already dead.
She said: "Very unbelievable that my son was gunned down in broad daylight."
Anthony, who had four brothers and a sister, enjoyed sports and had played football with a youth league at state level.
Nikkita said: "I did everything to keep him busy but it wasn't enough. We all need to take a stand as mothers who have lost children."
A 19-year-old has been arrested over the shooting.