BATON ROUGE – Rain-soaked flowers, balloons and a crucifix marked the spot Thursday where a 12-year-old boy died in a tragic chain of events hours earlier.

Samuel Lee, III, was hit and killed by a suspect involved in a police chase with Baton Rouge Police Wednesday evening. Lee was crossing the street when he was run over on Old Hammond near O'Neal in front of his house at the corner of Gloria Drive. The memorial was wrapped around a telephone pole near the spot where he was hit.

State Police are handling the investigation, which also involves the probe into city police shooting the suspect as the chase started elsewhere on O'Neal. Click HERE to read the latest information on the situation.

"I'm numb," the child's mother, Michelle, told WBRZ News 2 reporter Natalia Verdina.  "I'm in shock.  Right now, it just seems like it's not real... I can't believe it."

"He was a great kid, he loved to help everybody," she said, and continued, "[He had a] great personality."

Watch Thursday editions of WBRZ News 2 for more on the family and their message as their neighborhood deals with tragedy.

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