Christian Archen Whalen's last words to his girlfriend, Lacy Milling, were an apology and a declaration of love, sent just hours before his life was tragically cut short while trying to stop a fight at a bonfire party in Virginia.
The last words Christian Whalen texted girlfriend Lacy Milling, 16, were to apologize for not always being "the best person," Milling writes on the GoFundMe page that was set up to help the family raise funds for the funeral and memorial service.
"I'm sorry that I'm not the best person, but I love you," the text read.
Whalen was fatally shot during a bonfire party on September 1 in a wooded area in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, while trying to split up an altercation between other partygoers.
Milling told the news outlet she had pleaded with her boyfriend not to go.
Soon after, she realized her worst fears were turning into reality when she started seeing posts on social media offering prayers for Whalen.
"I go on Snapchat, and I see people posting on their story 'pray for Christian,'" she told NBC Washington.
"Just, it was everywhere."
It wasn't until a few hours later that she received a text from Whalen's father.
"I see a notification from his dad saying, 'Christian died'-literally, those two words."
Milling revealed she wasn't shocked when she learned the reason behind his death, as she described Whalen as being the kindest person.
"He would help anybody, like, even if it came down to his worst enemy," she shared, adding that he did not like arguing at all.
The department was called to the scene just after 1:00 am on Sunday, September 1 following reports of a shooting.
Whalen was shot in the lower extremity when trying to break up the fight, according to a press release from the Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office.
"Deputies immediately began to render life-saving measures. A deputy on scene loaded him into his cruiser and transported him to a rescue squad," the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office said.
Whalen later succumbed to his injuries at a nearby hospital.
Detectives interviewed multiple witnesses at the scene and quickly determined the suspect who fired the fatal shot was 18-year-old Kenneth Watson.
Watson has been charged with homicide and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and is being held without bond at the Rappahannock Regional Jail.
