What happened to the teen gunned down 30 years ago in Boston?

In honor of Mother's Day this weekend, we bring you the story of a mother and son bonded over an unexpected tragedy 30 years ago in Boston.

And in a twist of fate, one of our photographers recently found a picture he took of the tragic day 30 years ago, and then went on mission to track the family down and see what ever happened to them.

Gracie gave birth to Lakeem on Mother's Day. Born prematurely, Lakeem had to fight survive, and years later, he had to fight for his life again.

"The first shot hit me in the head everything went black," said Lakeem.

It's been three decades since Lakeem's wounded body was pictured on the cover of the Boston Herald. He was just 16 years old when he was attacked by strangers while walking back from the corner store on Homestead Street in the middle of the day.

"I heard some guys behind me talking about, 'Yo, what's up now?' 'What's up with what? I don't even know y'all.' And the guy started reaching. By the time he started reaching, I turned to run away, and he was letting off shots," recalled Lakeem.

"All of the sudden, I hear pow, pow, pow, pow," said Gracie.

Gracie heard the gunfire from inside her home. She was soon alerted that her only son was riddled with six bullets.

"My son was no gangbanger and stuff like that. I would have never thought that was my child getting gunned down like that," she said.

NBC10 Boston photographer Mark Garfinkel worked for the Herald at that time and captured the heartbreaking scene.

"I saw Gracie being held back by these two security guards and I saw Lakeem with his hands like this. I just remember you saying, 'My son! My son!' It was very scary," said Garfinkel.

"I told my son when he was laying on the ground, 'Fight like you never fought before. Fight for your life right now,'" said Gracie.

"They had to have a breathing tube put in here and a drain tube put in my back for the infection just a lot of different stuff. Yeah, a colostomy bag," said Lakeem.

It was a years-long road to full recovery for Lakeem. He defied an early prognosis that he may never have children.

"By the grace of God, he has two sons," said Gracie.

When asked, "What happened to the person who injured you?"

"He ended up going to jail. He got caught up on another murder charge and he copped a plea on my case," replied Lakeem.

TRACK: Coincidentally, exactly 30 years to the day, Garfinkel was in his basement and stumbled upon the impactful newspaper cover of Gracie and Lakeem that he photographed.

"I Googled them and found out they were still living in this area and doing well," said Garfinkel. "And nice to meet you guys."

"Nice to meet you officially," said Lakeem.

"It's nice to see what happened to you afterwards, which is a nice gentleman," said Garfinkel.

"I was getting cards and letters and prayers from everywhere and I thank God for the prayers that the people did give me and if I never got the chance to say thank you, thank you now," said Gracie.

Lakeem's injuries were so extensive, that he still has some of the bullet fragments in his body 30 years later and his mom says they will always be there.

Still, the mother and son remain are extremely grateful that he survived and recovered so well. They call it a miracle.