Jacob Hall was a six year-old boy who loved superheroes, but he’ll never grow up to attend a comic convention, or write and draw his own comic book. He was gunned down in a schoolyard shooting on September 28. He died on October 1st, and this morning, the citizens of Townsville, South Carolina held a superhero-themed funeral to honor his tragically short life.

Jacob attended Kindergarten at Townsville Elementary School, and was allegedly shot by a 14-year old, who is also accused of murdering his own father before driving to the school and opening fire, according to ABC News. Jacob was shot in the leg. A bullet severed his femoral artery, causing extreme blood loss and brain death.

Community members were asked to don superhero-themed outfits to honor the victim. Most showed up in superhero T-shirts, but some in attendance wore full regalia, including a mourner identified as John Buckland who dressed up as Batman, and said that he “wanted to co-ordinate the biggest, hope-filled superhero bash this planet has ever seen” in memory of the boy.

Related: Jeffrey Baldwin Statue with Superman Emblem is Nearly Finished

Jacob was to be buried in a Batman costume, according his mother Renae, who dressed as Robin, and who was seen collapsing at the foot of her son’s casket as she was brought into the church.

In a statement to the press on the day of his death, she held back tears and said that her son was forgiving, and had already forgiven the 14 year-old shooter. She also said that Jacob’s death taught her that there was still good in the world.

Her words echoed the optimism of her son’s beloved superheroes. “I stopped watching the news because I hated to watch every day that someone was killed on the news,” she told the press. “I hated that. And Jacob's death showed me that wasn't what the world's about. The world's about people coming together in a time of crisis, and helping people that they don't even know get by that time.”

Renae Hill also revealed that before he died, Jacob told her that he was secretly “Catboy” and that he went out at night to fight crime. Sadly, that fantasy was laid to rest along with the little boy that conceived it.

Reports also indicate that the 14 year-old shooter -- who shouted “I hate my life! I hate my life!” as he opened fire -- was being home-schooled because he’d brought a machete and a hatchet to school after being bullied, and that his father had prior convictions for domestic violence. He was tackled by a volunteer fireman, and was subdued before he could cause more harm. A teacher and two other students were also injured in the attack.

You can watch ABC's coverage of the funeral below:

The image at the top of the article is taken from ABC's video of the funeral.