(Editor’s note: The following was submitted by Darrell and Shannon Wells, the parents of Brett A. Wells, the 16-year-old, who was shot and killed on Saturday, Jan. 21, on Verdi Lane in Mechanicsville. They had headlined their letter, “Brett was not perfect, but I can state, he was perfectly loved by God!”)

Dealing with the death of a child is perhaps the most difficult thing that a grieving parent can possibly deal with in a lifetime. No matter what the circumstances, this level of grief is profound and a major life challenge.

There have been several comments made about our son, Brett Wells. The public and the press have rushed to provide their own opinions without knowing all of the facts. As people are making their judgments, what they are failing to recognize is what has happened is a community tragedy.

My family lost a son, a brother, a grandson, a cousin, a nephew, an uncle and a friend. Our lives have been changed forever. This can happen at any time to anyone anywhere. We do not know what our children are doing all the time and if we are naïve enough to believe so, we are only kidding ourselves. I feel like we were good parents. We had a great relationship with our son. If any of you feel like you can pass judgment on our parenting skills, you may want to look at you own before speaking of ours. Matthew 7:1-5 states “Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. For others will treat you as you treat them. Whatever measure you use in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged. And why worry about a speck in your friends eye when you have a log in your own?  How can you think of saying, “Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye, when you can’t see past the log in your own eye ?” Hypocrite! First get rid of the log from you own eye; then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”

There is only one perfect person that has ever been, that is Jesus Christ!

Our son Brett had touched many lives in special ways, throughout his short, yet very memorable life. Brett’s life would seem too short to many, but for those who were touched by him, understood that the quality of existence far exceeds quantity of time in which he lived it. His gentle smile could melt the hearts of those around him!

With Brett’s passing, we remind others that his life is one to be celebrated, although we will miss him every day, he will always remain forever in our hearts.

With this is mind, I would like to thank each and every one of you who took time to come and share in his remembrance. I would especially like to thank the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office for their determination and continuous efforts to find the responsible persons. I would like to also thank the paramedics that responded to the call and their attempts to do whatever was necessary to try and save my son.

But the compassion and support shown from the community has far exceeded anything I could have ever anticipated.

While this is a sad time for all of us, I find comfort in knowing how fortunate we are to have such a caring community.

The cards, the letters, the love and support we have received are not only a comfort, but a source of strength for my family in this difficult time.