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SPRINGVILLE — Funeral services were held Saturday for a man killed by an armed bystander in Orem last week. Though the man is accused of committing a crime when he was shot, his mother wants people to understand there was a softer side to her son.
On May 2, Taulagi Matafeo, 26, was shot and killed in an Orem Macey's parking lot when police say an armed man stopped him from carjacking a woman.
Matafeo had allegedly stolen two vehicles and was trying to evade arrest by taking a third when a bystander came to the woman’s aid. The man told police he shot Matafeo when he tried to take the man’s gun.
"It's hard. He's my youngest; he's my baby," said Vicki Matafeo, Taulagi Matafeo's mother.
At her son's funeral, Vicki Matafeo couldn't believe all the support she felt.
“I honestly thought — because of what had been put in the media — it was going to be a lonely time,” she said. “But the love from everyone was amazing.”
Taulagi Matafeo struggled with addictions, but his family wants others to know there is more to him than what was in the news.
“When he’s him, and he’s not struggling with the things he struggled with, he’s just gentle,” said Farrah Kaisa, Taulagi Matafeo’s sister. “I definitely know that he was hoping the lady was OK, that he was scared, and that the gentleman was OK.”
The family also wants people to know to support those you love with love. Lots of people are struggling with something, they say, and sometimes a hug can make all the difference in the world.
“This is an epidemic. It’s not a city problem; it’s not a faraway problem; it’s everywhere,” Vicki Matafeo said.
It's too late to fix that problem for Taulagi Matafeo on this earth, but his family will always pray for him and will always have hope.
“He always said ‘I love you’ whenever he left. He always gave hugs, and he was just a big teddy bear,” Kaisa said.
“(I) plan on seeing him again,” Vicki Matafeo said. “I know there is work to done, and I know there is something positive from this.”
