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Exclusive: A Year After Son's Death, Family Pleads For Help To Find His Killer

ALLAPATTAH (CBSMiami) -- The family of an Allapattah boy killed a year ago, while riding his bike to a friend's house, is asking for help to find their son's killer.

Bryan Herrera, 16,  was shot in the head about 11 a.m. December 22, 2012. He was on his way to work on a science project at a friend's house. In the past year, no one has been arrested for the crime.

Bryan's dad, William Herrera, said he remembers every detail of that day.  He went to work even though it was Saturday because he wanted to earn some extra money for Christmas.

"I didn't talk to him that morning. I thought it's Saturday I don't need to go in and wake him up he must be tired," Herrera told  CBS4's Maggie Newland.  That afternoon he learned his son had been shot. "That was really bad, disturbing, hard to swallow," he said.

For the past year, Bryan's family has been trying to figure out life without him. It's hard to accept that Bryan, who was among the top ten students in his school, will never graduate.

 "He was very smart he was really good at school," said William Herrera. Bryan's stepmother, Anabel added, "He was just starting to get into becoming the man he was going to be."

Police say Bryan had never been in trouble. His family says he loved video games and was interested in robotic engineering.  A search of his backpack on the day he died turned up sketches of comic book figures.

"They think it was a random thing that happened, that most likely he didn't know who the person was," explained William Herrera.

"It's been a year, still no arrests made," said Anabel Herrera, adding, "We need someone to have it in their heart to come forth and testify because this guy's out there and he's going to continue doing these things.  Today it's our son and tomorrow it's someone else's sister, brother, daughter, it could be anyone."

If you have any information on Bryan's killer, call Miami-Dade Crimestoppers at (305) 471-TIPS.

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