A day after proudly watching her son graduate from the University of Buffalo, a Bronx mom is now making plans to bury the brainy future engineer. Javon Jackson, 23, was shot and killed just after 3 a.m. Sunday outside a bar in Buffalo as he celebrated his graduation. Cops believe the gunman and three other men walked up behind Jackson and fired at least twice at the newly minted grad. “This was supposed to be my Mother’s Day gift,” grieving mom Theresa Williams, told reporters in Buffalo. “I was so proud of him.”
Williams and Jackson’s father, who flew in from Chicago, both attended their son’s graduation and were still upstate when they learned of the terrible news. Even hardboiled cops were jarred by the parents’ tragedy. “His father and mother were so proud to have their son graduate from college,” Chief of Detectives Dennis Richards said. “Now, they are distraught beyond words.” Jackson grew up in the Pelham Parkway Houses and graduated from Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics. Friends flooded an online memorial site with stories about his quick wit and big smile. Childhood friend Alexis Dorsett said Jackson was always more interested in his studies than fighting.
“He’s a good kid. Humorous, focused on school,” Dorsett said. “He’s a great kid. It’s hard.” Williams said she last saw her son alive when he went out to see some friends. “I never thought it would be the last time,” she said, fighting back tears. Jackson was crossing Main St., a stretch of road lined with bars full of students celebrating graduation, when he was gunned down. Police believe they may have caught the shooting on a surveillance camera.