Family and friends will gather tonight to remember a 13-year-old Birmingham boy who was killed when his ATV was hit by a driver fleeing a nearby shooting scene.

Braylen “Bray Bray” Hardy, a seventh-grade student and basketball player at Bush Hills STEAM Academy, died Tuesday at Children’s of Alabama, three days after he was struck near his father’s Ensley home.

A balloon release will be held at 6 p.m. today in the 2900 block of Avenue E. Attendees are asked to bring blue or black balloons.

A GoFundMe has also been launched to help his parents, Vannessa Riggs and Billy Hardy, with the unexpected costs associated with Braylen’s death.

“In his short 13 years, he was a source of joy and inspiration to his parents, siblings, family, basketball teammates and friends,’’ his family wrote on the fundraising site. “Braylen left a lasting impact on everyone who knew him.”

Braylen was sitting on his four-wheeler on a sidewalk on Avenue E in his father’s neighborhood Saturday evening. He and his dad and brothers had just finished riding, a family activity they liked to do every chance they got.

It was about 6:45 p.m. when there were shots fired nearby, in the 2400 block of Avenue D.

Birmingham police said a vehicle fleeing the shooting scene crashed into the child.

The driver who hit the child fled on foot, but Birmingham patrol officers took him into custody a few blocks from the scene.

No formal charges have yet been announced, but police said the investigation ongoing by BPD’s Traffic Homicide Unit.

Riggs said her son was about to put up the ATV for the night.

“A man driving erratically, going 60 or better down the road, I don’t know if he went over pothole or hit a curb, but he lost control, hopped the curb and hit my baby,’’ Riggs said.

Ruggs rushed to the scene but by the time she got there, Braylen had already been taken to Children’s of Alabama.

Braylen stopped and started breathing a couple of times, and he was put on a ventilator once at the hospital.

The impact of the collision injured Braylen’s lungs and head, and he also sustained a broken leg and a broken arm.

“We were trying to see if God was going to turn it around,’’ Riggs said.

On Tuesday, after multiple tests showed no brain activity, the family made the decision that they didn’t want to see Braylen suffer any longer.

“The only thing keeping him was the breathing machine,’’ she said. “I just decided to let him go, to be an angel.”

Braylen loved to play video games, and he loved to eat – especially a six-piece of mild wings with Cajun ranch cheese fries.

“He was just a happy kid,’’ his mom said.

Braylen also loved school.

“I got a call from his teacher once saying, ‘Let me tell you about Braylen and these little girls, he’s popular up here,’’’ Riggs said with a laugh.

“His principal came by the hospital Monday and Braylen was doing very good at school,’’ she said, adding that he was going to be able to get into Ramsay High School, which was the family’s goal for him.

Superintendent Mark Sullivan expressed his condolences to the family and said counseling is being provided to students and staff.

Braylen leaves behind three brothers and a sister who are also mourning the loss of the outgoing little boy.

“He loved to spend time with his family,’’ his mother said. “He was just a fun-loving kid.”

Donations to the GoFundMe can be made here.