The funeral for Andrew Messina, the 16-year-old killed by a SWAT sniper during a standoff last week, will be today at 4 p.m. at Hillside United Methodist Church.

Meanwhile, the Etowah High sophomore's parents are questioning the actions of the Cherokee County sheriff's officers after mother Lisa Messina called Tuesday evening about Andrew's brandishing of a .357 Magnum handgun inside their Eagle Watch house.

“The threat was to kill himself and no one else,” father Nicholas Messina told WSB-TV before Sunday's visitation at Woodstock Funeral Home.

Lisa Messina said she never felt her life was in danger.

“If this is the best they can do, then they need a lot of improvement,” she said of sheriff's officers.

Capt. Joe Satterfield, who commands the Cherokee SWAT team, said the negotiators who tried to get Messina to surrender did everything possible to save the teen, and the sniper who shot him didn't want to kill him.

"We can't control a suspect's actions," the captain said.

An autopsy that was performed last week showed that Messina died from a single gunshot wound to the chest, according to deputy coroner Thomas Pinyan.

The full obituary for Messina is posted at Woodstock Funeral Home's website. He was killed four weeks short of his 17th birthday.

"As we look back at his short time on this Earth, his passing will leave a void in all of our lives but his memory will always bring a smile and comfort to all," the obituary reads. "We thank Andrew and we will all miss him."

Read all the articles about the Messina case so far, and return to Woodstock-Towne Lake Patch for continuing coverage.