Community Holds Vigil For Teen Killed On Lower East Side
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Community members in the Lower East Side gathered Friday to remember a Manhattan teen fatally shot near his apartment building.
Friends of 16-year-old Raphael Ward joined the Grand Street Settlement to organize a basketball tournament and vigil in his honor.
Ward attended afterschool programs with the community organization before his death last week.
Police say Ward was shot in the chest near the Baruch Houses, possibly after a fight over his jacket.
Friends and mentors say they remember him as a happy-go-lucky, sport-loving kid.
"His mom came here with me, and he was my participant, so for me when I got the news it's obviously very emotional, and we felt something had to happen," Shaheeda Abdush-Shaheed of the Grand Street Settlement Youth Services said.
"For his life to have been taken away it really hurts everybody," friend Kaina Pender said. "So we wanted to come here, instead of everyone being sad and crying, we come here, show support and laugh about all the good times we had with him."
Authorities are still searching for suspects in connection with the shooting.
Timothy Montalvo, 16, was arraigned on second-degree murder and weapons possession charges.
Police say Montalvo told investigators he handed the gun to Ward's killer.
Anyone with information on the case should contact the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS, or text CRIMES and then enter TIP577, or visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com.