South Carolina ? The parents of a 12-year-old shot to death while trick-or-treating said Monday they hope the man accused of killing him suffers for the rest of his life.

T.J. Darrisaw died Halloween night after police say a convicted felon unleashed a barrage of bullets from inside a home, pumping at least 29 shots through the closed door and front of the house. The boy’s father and brother also were wounded.

“The injury to my arm is not as bad as the injury to my heart. I’ve lost a piece of my heart forever,” father Freddie Grinnell Jr. said Monday.

Police said the suspect, Quentin Patrick, 22, opened fire with an AK-47 because he thought he was being robbed. The family went to the home because the porch light was on, usually a signal that trick-or-treaters are welcome.

Two of three siblings who went to the door with their father were wearing ghoulish masks. Their parents said the slain boy was determined to get candy first, so he was in front when the shots were fired. “T.J. saved us that night,” Grinnell said. “He took most of the shots.”