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Police arrested and charged a 17-year-old and charged him with murder.

"That call that night shattered everything," said Malaysia Barkley, Abijah Barkley's sister. "You go to the hospital thinking he's going to be alright."

Judges kept the accused murderer in jail until Thursday.

"He took my son, took a father, brother, a grandson," said the victim's mother, who didn't want to be identified.

The accused killer went before Judge Aretha Blake and the family said she released the teen on a $300,000 unsecured bond.

A person in jail does not have to come up with money to get out of jail when issued an unsecured bond.

The suspect's release was a punch in the gut for family members.

"I feel it's very unfair because my brother will not be able to come home," Malaysia Barkley told Channel 9 on Friday.

Abijah Barkley was the father of a 4-month-old daughter. He worked overnights at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

During the day, he worked for a food delivery service to support his young family.