A vigil was held Friday night for a Sheepshead Bay High School football player who was shot and killed by a teammate earlier this week.
It marked what would have been the victim’s 17th birthday.
Ka’mardre Coleman remembered
Students and family of Ka’mardre Coleman gathered in the high school’s courtyard with flowers, balloons and candles. They cried, held each other and sang “Happy Birthday” to Coleman.
Loved ones shed tears filled with pain and joy while sharing stories, words to remember and personal poems. Coleman’s mother stood by, wiping away rivers of tears.
“Everybody that is here is impacted by him because all he knew was to give, to love, to joke, to smile,” said Shanell Rogers, the victim’s aunt. Â
Rogers said her nephew had a bright future. Coleman ran track, played basketball and football, and was known for his humor and positive outlook.
His death now leaves a void at home and at school.
“He’s got class with me and I don’t see him no more. It’s kinda hard,” friend Obaid Mallik said.
Many are still processing the loss while clinging on to Coleman’s memory.
“We’re going to get the justice that we seek,” Rogers said.
“I’m so happy because I know he’s looking down. He’s like, ‘This is all for me?’ Like, he’s happy,” cousin Edrionna Bland said.
Ka’mardre Coleman
Photo provided
Suspect charged as adult
Coleman was fatally shot on Monday.
His 16-year-old teammate is being charged as an adult with manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon.
According to attorneys, Coleman, his teammate, and two other teenagers were passing around a gun for fun when it was accidentally fired.
The suspect tried to save Coleman, but when he couldn’t, he ran away, officials said.
Prosecutors said the gun belonged to the suspect, who is the son of an NYPD officer.
The suspect is currently out on bail. His next court date is April 14.