Jasmin Prater, center, walks with members of the Westbury High School community as they gather to remember her son, LePaul Warren, a 17-year-old standout athlete who was shot and killed Sept. 25 just outside of the school in Houston, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.
Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle
An image of LePaul Warren is seen at a memorial site for the 17-year-old standout athlete who was shot and killed Sept. 25 just outside of the school in Houston, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.
Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle
Jasmin Prater, center, walks with members of the Westbury High School community as they gather to remember her son, LePaul Warren, a 17-year-old standout athlete who was shot and killed Sept. 25 just outside of the school in Houston, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.
Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle
Members of the Westbury High School community gather to remember LePaul Warren, a 17-year-old standout athlete who was shot and killed Sept. 25 just outside of the school in Houston, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.
Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle
Jasmin Prater, center, takes part in a balloon release as members of the Westbury High School community gather to remember her son, LePaul Warren, a 17-year-old standout athlete who was shot and killed Sept. 25 just outside of the school in Houston, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.
Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle
A towel with the image of LePaul Warren is seen at a memorial site for the 17-year-old standout athlete who was shot and killed Sept. 25 just outside of the school in Houston, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.
Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle
Darius Johnson speaks as members of the Westbury High School community gather to remember LePaul Warren, a 17-year-old standout athlete who was shot and killed Sept. 25 just outside of the school in Houston, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.
Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle
Darius Johnson, right, comforts Brother Immanuel as members of the Westbury High School community gather to remember LePaul Warren, a 17-year-old standout athlete who was shot and killed Sept. 25 just outside of the school in Houston, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.
Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle
Ja’Nya Brooks hangs balloons at a memorial site for LePaul Warren, a 17-year-old standout athlete who was shot and killed Sept. 25 just outside of Westbury High School in Houston, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.
Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle
An image of LePaul Warren is seen at a memorial site for the 17-year-old standout athlete who was shot and killed Sept. 25 just outside of the school in Houston, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.
Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle
Micah Fenix helps arrange items at a memorial site for LePaul Warren, a 17-year-old standout athlete who was shot and killed Sept. 25 just outside of Westbury High School in Houston, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.
Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle
Members of the Westbury High School community gather to remember LePaul Warren, a 17-year-old standout athlete who was shot and killed Sept. 25 just outside of the school in Houston, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.
Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle
Members of the Westbury High School community eat pizza to raise money for the family of LePaul Warren after gathering to remember the 17-year-old standout athlete who was shot and killed Sept. 25 just outside of the school in Houston, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026.
Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle
Several hundred members of the Westbury High School community gathered Saturday afternoon to remember senior LePaul Warren and speak out against youth gun violence.
Warren, 17, was fatally shot outside of the Houston ISD campus the morning of Sept. 25. A multisport athlete and aspiring engineer, Warren was a funny and athletic student who made a positive impact on the southwest Houston community, his mom, Jasmine Warren, said.
“He was a light that lit up everybody’s lives around him. He had a major support system, from family to coaches to all of his friends. He was very loved,” Jasmine Warren said. “We can’t see LePaul through his senior year, going to college and becoming a man we knew he was going to become. It hurts a lot.”
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Warren’s death came days after Royce Witchet, a 15-year-old Westfield High School student, was shot and killed outside of his Spring ISD campus. The students’ deaths have renewed calls for better protections against gun violence both inside and outside of campus.
TWO STUDENT DEATHS: Officials push broader safety measures beyond campus
The United States’ surgeon general has named gun violence a national public health crises. Just like other nationwide crises, it’ll take a village to solve, said Russell Bessard, who works for Harris County Public Health’s Community Health and Violence Prevention Services.
Bessard and his team also attended Witchet’s funeral Saturday.
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“It’s becoming too normal. Anytime gun violence becomes normal, then we’re definitely doing something wrong,” Bessard said. “A pound of prevention beats a pound of cure. We have to be proactive … That means going to talk to the kids before they get the gun in their hand.”
On the court, Warren was known for taking shots — and making them — anywhere on the basketball court, members of his former youth basketball team said. Off the court, Warren was a talented football player known for making his teammates laugh or making TikTok dance videos.
“There’s no time where he was mad or sad about nothing,” former teammate DJ Jones said. “He was always joking around, always trying to cheer somebody up.”
His death has left a hole in the Westbury community, said Jesheika Pratt, a member of that school community. Westbury’s homecoming dance and game were canceled after Warren’s death, and a memorial continues to grow just outside of the campus. Travoris Hines, a 17-year-old former Westbury student, has been arrested and jailed on a murder charge in Warren’s death.
WESTBURY SUSPECT: 17-year-old charged with killing Westbury HS student had clean record, unclear motive
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“They are our future. If they’re killing each other now, what is that going to leave us in the future?” Pratt said. “I hope they understand that when you do something like that, you not only hurt the family.”
Hundreds hugged, reminisced and walked together in matching T-shirts in a march honoring Warren on Saturday. Warren’s former classmates tearfully pled with the crowd to end gun violence and continue supporting his family in their loss. Once at Willow Waterhole Greenway nearby, friends and family released hundreds of balloons in Westbury’s signature blue, white and silver.
“People are going have conflict, but it should never result in a mother losing her child,” former classmate Darius Johnson said. “We’re going to keep spreading love. We’re going to keep pushing his name out, and as a community, we’re going to come together for a better tomorrow.”
Warren’s mom hopes the outpouring of support will make a difference for other young people in the community.
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“My son touched a lot of people. He was loved, and the love that I shared, that I had every day, somebody felt it when they were around him,” Warren said. “I’m really thankful that so many people came out just to support my son and also just gun violence in general. That’s too many (deaths) in one week.”