Cedric Goodwin / Photo by Jessica Koscielniak

Cedric Goodwin was fatally shot in the South Shore neighborhood Friday morning.

Goodwin, 20, was shot in the abdomen, back and left leg about 9 a.m. in the 7400 block of South Euclid Avenue, authorities said.

Goodwin, of the 7600 block of South Euclid Avenue, was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was declared dead at 12:25 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

The shooting happened about a block from South Shore International College Prep High School, but investigators do not believe any students were involved, according to a police source.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area South detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Mutahir Rauf / Submitted photo

BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times

Loyola University students and friends Saturday were reeling over the death of a 23-year-old pre-med student from Pakistan who was shot and killed during an attempted robbery near the Rogers Park campus.

Authorities said Mutahir Rauf was with his brother in the 1200 block of West Albion Avenue when two males walked up, showed a weapon and demanded his belongings about 7:50 p.m. Friday.

At least one of the males opened fire, striking the man in his chest and head, police said.

Rauf, of the 1400 block of West Pratt Boulevard, was pronounced dead at 8:08 p.m. according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Rauf was walking with his brother when they were approached by the males and were shown the gun, 49th Ward alderman Joe Moore said in a post on EveryBlock.com. Rauf thought the weapon was fake and tried to reach for it, Moore said. He was later shot during a scuffle.

Luigi Loizzo, a junior at Loyola, had taken an organic class with Rauf over the summer.

Loizzo lives just 200 feet where the incident took place.

“It’s pretty scary that I have to look over my shoulder every time I walk outside,” said Loizzo, 20, of suburban Addison.

“To know that someone was shot point blank so close to where I’m taking classes is not a very comfortable feeling.”

Loizzo said he didn’t know Rauf very well but said he was a “very nice and respectful.”

Rauf, who was born in Pakistan, received his BA from Northwestern University and was taking graduate courses at Loyola, friends said.

“Mutahir was very near and dear to his community. His loss is a tragedy and we’re all deeply saddened,” Rauf’s friends from Northwestern said in a statement.

“He was a bright student at Northwestern who was continuing his studies at Loyola before pursuing a medical degree.”

One friend who didn’t want his name used said Rauf was loyal. “If you were friends with him, he had your back completely,” the man told the Sun-Times.

Rauf’s brother who was with him when he was murdered is also a student at Loyola, Loizzo said.

Loizzo was studying at the library Friday night but his friends who were going to a comedy improv show heard screams and saw a couple tending to Rauf and his brother who was “hysterical.”

Loizzo said one of his friends who stumbled upon the crime scene stopped a rape from occurring a few months ago, so he and other students are well aware of the dangers in the neighborhood.

“There’s a lot of crime here, but it’s usually gang related. To know this happened to a student hits really close to home,” Loizzo said.

Rauf will be buried in Pakistan, a friend said.

Officials Loyola are planning a moment of silence Saturday evening at the University’s Lessons and Carols event at the Madonna della Strada Chapel.

On Sunday, a prayer for Mutahir will be said after the 10: 30 a.m. mass at the chapel. A walk in Rauf’s honor will follow.

Loyola students have been asked to gather at the Mundelein Center Auditorium at 3 p.m. Wednesday to remember Rauf and pray for non-violence.

-- Contributing: Reema Amin

Scene where James Sweeten was shot / Photo by Brian Jackson

James Sweeten was killed in an East Side shooting that left another man wounded Friday evening.

Sweeten, 26, was in the 10600 block of South Avenue O with a 23-year-old man when a gunman walked out from a gangway and shot both men about 4:45 p.m. Friday, authorities said.

Sweeten, of the 9800 block of South Avenue L, was shot in the chest died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, authorities said.

The other man was shot in the chest and left arm, police said. He was also taken to Christ Medical Center for treatment.

The gunman ran away after the shooting and nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area South detectives are investigating.

Nina Dones / Photo from Chicago Police

BY GEORGE SLEFO AND LUKE WILUSZ
Sun-Times Media

A Skokie woman who once owned the gun used in a murder-suicide at a Downtown Nordstrom on Black Friday has been charged with disorderly conduct for falsely reporting it stolen.

Nina Dones, 23, reported the semi-automatic pistol had been stolen from her Skokie apartment in September, according to a Skokie police official with knowledge of the investigation.

After the murder-suicide, the gun was traced back to Dones and Chicago Police arrested her Friday, authorities said. She was charged with disorderly conduct for filing a false police report, according to the source and court records.

Dones was ordered held on $10,000 bond Saturday.

On Nov. 28, Marcus Dee, 31, walked into the accessories department of the store about 8:30 p.m. and shot his ex-girlfriend, 22-year-old Nadia Ezaldein, before turning the gun on himself, authorities said.

Dee was pronounced dead at the scene, and Ezaldein, a seasonal employee at the store, died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital the next day.

Kenyon Jones (L) and Paris Jones (R) / Photos from Chicago Police

Two men have been charged with murder in the shooting death of 17-year-old Demond Avant Wednesday night in the Austin neighborhood.

Avant was standing on a sidewalk in the 600 block of North Mayfield Avenue when a gunman exited a nearby van and opened fire about 9:25 p.m. Wednesday, authorities said.

Avant, of the 1000 block of North Monitor Avenue, was shot in the head and died less than an hour later at West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, authorities said.

Police identified 33-year-old Kenyon Jones, of the 1600 block of North Nagle Avenue, and 24-year-old Paris Jones, of the 700 block of North Waller Avenue, as suspects and took them into custody.

It was not immediately known if the two are related.

Both men were charged with first-degree murder, and each was ordered held on $2 million during a Saturday hearing. They will be back in court Monday.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

BY MICHAEL LANSU
Homicide Watch Chicago Editor

Four people were fatally shot throughout Chicago last week.

The most recent killing happened when 23-year-old Loyola University pre-med student Mutahir Rauf was shot during an attempted robbery in the 1200 block of West Albion Avenue near the Rogers Park campus about 7:50 p.m. Friday, authorities said.

Two males walked up, showed a weapon and demanded Rauf's belongings, authorities said. Rauf thought the weapon was fake and tried to reach for it, said 49th Ward Ald. Joe Moore.

Rauf, of the 1400 block of West Pratt Boulevard, was shot in the head and chest during a scuffle, authorities said. He died minutes later.

On the East Side, 26-year-old James Sweeten was shot in the 10600 block of South Avenue O, about 4:45 p.m. Friday, authorities said.

Sweeten, of the 9800 block of South Avenue L, was shot in the chest died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, authorities said. A 23-year-old man was also shot numerous times, but survived his injuries, police said.

In the South Shore community, 20-year-old Cedric Goodwin was shot multiple times in the 7400 block of South Euclid Avenue about 9 a.m. Friday, authorities said.

Goodwin, of the 7600 block of South Euclid Avenue, was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was declared dead at 12:25 p.m. Friday, according to the medical examiner’s office.

The killing started when 17-year-old Demond Avant was shot in the head while standing on a sidewalk in the 600 block of North Mayfield Avenue in the Austin community about 9:25 p.m. Wednesday, authorities said.

Avant, of the 1000 block of North Monitor Avenue, died less than an hour later at West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, authorities said.

Kenyon Jones, 33, of the 1600 block of North Nagle Avenue, and Paris Jones, 24, of the 700 block of North Waller Avenue, men were charged with first-degree murder for Avant's death and each is being held on $2 million bond. It was not immediately known if the two are related.

Overall, the medical examiner’s office has ruled at least 408 Chicago deaths in 2014 a homicide — including 14 people killed by police.

Chicago Police, which counts murders different by following federal guidelines, have ruled some of those homicides as involuntary manslaughter, justified self-defense or accidents.

Cedric Goodwin, 20, was fatally shot in the South Shore neighborhood Monday morning. Reader Terrell McDonald posted this about the shooting:

This happen to much ovs east. When will somebody do sum about this. It been going on for to long. We don't know who gone be next. Everyday I wake up its a blessing. I just wish my dead homies can feel the same

Guillermo Ocampo was fatally shot in the Humboldt Park neighborhood Monday night.

Officers responding to a call of shots fired found Ocampo lying on the sidewalk in the 900 block of North Central Park Avenue about 4:50 p.m., authorities said.

Ocampo, 19, who lived on the block, was shot multiple times in the chest and legs, authorities said. He died less than an hour later at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County.

People in the area told police they heard five or six gunshots, according to a police source.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area North detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Mutahir Rauf / Submitted photo

BY STEFANO ESPOSITO
Chicago Sun-Times

The brother of a Loyola University Chicago student killed last week in an attempted robbery said Tuesday that as the grieving family seeks answers and justice -- they aren’t interested in vengeance.

“We seek peace, not vengeance, understanding, not bigotry,” Mokaam Rauf told reporters at Piper Hall on Loyola’s lakeshore campus. “We see this brutal act as being symptomatic of a greater epidemic of poverty and violence pervading Chicago ….”

Mutahir Rauf, 23, was shot and killed Friday during an attempted robbery. Rauf was with another brother in the 1200 block of West Albion Avenue just before 8 p.m. when two men walked up and showed a weapon.

Rauf thought the weapon was a fake, tried to reach for it and was shot, Ald. Joe Moore (49th) has said.

On Tuesday, Mokaram Rauf said his family has “full faith” that Chicago police will solve the case.

Mutahir Rauf was Pakistani and had lived in New York. He received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Northwestern University in 2013 and was a post-baccalaureate student enrolled in Loyola’s pre-health professional program.

“His bright spirit will continue to shine in the darkest corners of our hearts,” Mokaram Rauf said.

Scene where Guvonni Johnson was shot / Photo by Brian Jackson

Guvonni Johnson was fatally shot during a domestic fight in the Washington Park neighborhood Monday morning.

Johnson, 25, got into an argument outside his home in the 6100 block of South Wabash Avenue about 11:10 a.m. Monday, authorities said.

During the argument, the other man pulled out a handgun and shot Johnson in the head and chest, authorities said.

Johnson was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, where he died at 4:24 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Police have identified the 25-year-old shooter, but he is not in custody.

Area Central detectives are investigating.

Richard Magnan / Photo from Chicago Police

BY LEEANN SHELTON
Sun-Times Media

An alleged gang member has been sentenced to 11 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to accidentally shooting a friend while waving a gun during a Fourth of July celebration.

Richard Magnan, 35, pleaded guilty to being an armed habitual criminal and involuntary manslaughter Monday before Judge Matthew Coghlan, who sentenced him to 11 years in prison, according to court and prison records.

Magnan, who has numerous facial tattoos, including one that reads, “F--- the world,” was shot his friend, Joel Bentley, early July 5, prosecutors said.


The two friends were at a Fourth of July party before walking to a Walgreens parking lot in the 6200 block of South Austin Avenue, prosecutors said.

It was there that Magnan grabbed a gun from his truck and started waving it around, prosecutors said. Magnan's friends told him to put the gun away, but before he could it discharged and struck the 30-year-old Bentley in the abdomen.

Bentley, of the 5000 block of South Keating Avenue, died hours later at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Magnan initially fled the scene, but was later arrested in a Willowbrook hotel, according to prosecutors, who said he admitted to shooting his friend. Both men were purported members of the 2-6 street gang, prosecutors claimed.

Magnan, of the 2600 block of West 90th Place in Evergreen Park, will receive credit for 154 days spent in jail since his arrest, according to court records.

Leonardo Matias was fatally shot in the Upton neighborhood Tuesday morning.

Matias, 21, was shot in the head during a drive-by shooting in the 1100 block of West Wilson about 10 a.m. Tuesday, authorities said.

Matias, of the 2300 block of North Mango Avenue, was initially taken in critical condition to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was declared dead at 11:01 a.m. Wednesday, authorities said.

The shooting happened across the street from Truman College and police do not believe Matias was the intended target.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area North detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

BY LEEANN SHELTON
Sun-Times Media

A man has been acquitted of murder in the death of an infant who died of child abuse while in his care last year in the West Englewood neighborhood.

Willie Brown, now 18, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of 4-month-old Demari Brown, whom he was watching on Sept. 26, 2013, at the child’s home in the 6000 block of South Honore Street, authorities said.

Police said Brown was Demari’s father, but prosecutors only said the infant was his girlfriend’s baby.

Demari was found unresponsive in a bedroom of his home, and prosecutors accused Brown of leaving the room to play video games after the child suddenly stopped making sounds.

Demari later died at Holy Cross Hospital, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. An autopsy determined the infant died from multiple blunt force injuries caused by child abuse, and his death was ruled a homicide.

Willie Brown was found not guilty of all charges Tuesday following a bench trial before Judge Vincent Gaughan, according to court records.

An Illinois Department of Children and Family Services investigation into the child’s death found an “indicated abuse” against Willie Brown and the child’s mother -- meaning the agency found credible evidence that the child was abused, a spokesperson said.

Eric Hamilton / Photo from Chicago Police

BY MICHAEL LANSU
Homicide Watch Chicago Editor

A south suburban man has been charged with murder for his alleged role in a domestic shooting that killed Guvonni Johnson Monday morning in the Washington Park community.

Authorities said Johnson got into an argument outside his home in the 6100 block of South Wabash Avenue about 11:10 a.m. Monday. The man he was arguing with then pulled out a handgun and shot Johnson in the head and chest, authorities said.

Johnson, 25, was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, where he died the next day, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Police initially described the shooting as "domestic related" and said detectives have identified a suspect.

Eric Hamilton, 46, of the 800 block of West Westwood Drive in Glenwood, was arrested Wednesday and later charged with first-degree murder, authorities said.

Hamilton was scheduled to appear in court for a Friday bond hearing, but was unable to attend because he was hospitalized with "heart attack symptoms," a Chicago Police officer said in court. Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesel ordered Hamilton held without bond until he can appear before a judge for a bond hearing, which was rescheduled for Monday.

-- Contributing: Sun-Times Media Wire

A 51-year-old man was stabbed to death in the West Ridge neighborhood Thursday morning.

Timothy W. Quirk got into an argument in the 2200 block of West Farwell Avenue about 6:15 a.m. Thursday, authorities said.

The argument escalated and Quirk was stabbed in the neck, authorities said.

Quirk, who lived on the block, died at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office, which ruled the death a homicide.

A police source said both people involved in the dispute had been drinking, and Area North detectives are investigating the attack as a domestic stabbing. The relationship between the two was not immediately available.

Detectives are speaking with a person of interest, but no charges have been filed as of Friday afternoon.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Tyrece L. Stornes was killed in a drive-by shooting in the Roseland neighborhood Friday evening.

Stornes, 27, was outside his home in the 10400 block of South State Street when a gunman opened fire from a passing vehicle about 5 p.m. Friday, authorities said.

Stornes was shot in the chest and died at the scene, authorities said.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area South detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Rolando Leon was fatally shot in the Humboldt Park neighborhood Friday night.

Leon, 28, was inside a vehicle in the 1300 block of North Springfield Avenue, when at least one person walked up and shot him in the head about 7 p.m., authorities said.

Leon, of the 1200 block of North Springfield Avenue, died at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

A child inside the vehicle was not injured, police said.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area North detectives are investigating if the shooting was gang related.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Ivery Isom / Photo from Cook County Sheriff's office

BY TINA SFONDELES AND MICHAEL LANSU
Chicago Sun-Times

Charges were upgraded against a South Side man after prosecutors claim he shot a motorist before a deadly crash last year in the Calumet Heights neighborhood.

Ivery Isom was a passenger in a vehicle that crashed near East 93rd Street and South Constance Avenue about 5:10 a.m. Nov. 29, 2013, authorities said.

Police said the vehicle was speeding east on 93rd Street when it veered into the oncoming lane then crashed into a parked vehicle, light pole and tree.

The driver, 22-year-old Patrick Walker, of the 700 block of East 68th Street, died hours later at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

Isom and two other passengers were injured in the crash and taken to Christ Medical Center for treatment, authorities said.

Emergency crews found Isom with a loaded handgun and he was initially charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful use of a weapon, possession of ammunition without a valid FOID and possession of a laser sight accessory, police said.

Isom, 23, of the 6500 block of South Lowe Avenue, was initially ordered held on $50,000 bond, but charges were upgraded this week to involuntary manslaughter.

Police initially said alcohol may have been a factor in the crash, but on Saturday prosecutors said that an autopsy determined Walker died in part from being shot and the death was ruled a homicide.

The Illinois State Police crime lab determined that Isom, who was in the back seat, had gunshot residue on his sweatshirt after the crash, prosecutors said.

On Saturday, Judge Adam Bourgeois raised Isom's bond to $750,000 and ordered him to be back in court Monday.

Demario Bailey / Sumbitted photo

BY SUN-TIMES STAFF

A 15-year-old boy was fatally shot during a robbery attempt Saturday afternoon in the Englewood neighborhood.

Demario Bailey was gunned down about 12:40 p.m. Saturday as he and his twin brother made their way toward Johnson College Prep, 6350 South Stewart Ave., to play basketball, according to police and the boy’s aunt, Michelle Fitzpatrick.

“Some guys came upon him and tried to rob him of his jacket,” Fitzpatrick said. “Our nephew wouldn’t give up his coat, and they shot him in chest.”

Bailey was on a sidewalk in the 0-100 block of West 63rd Street when four people walked up and announced the robbery, according to police.

A gunman among the four then shot Demario, police said.

Demario, of the 7500 block of South Wabash Avenue, died at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. He would have turned 16 on Tuesday, family said.

Later, when his body was taken away, his mother wailed and shouted, “I want my baby back!”

Demario was a sophomore at Johnson College Prep charter school, 6350 S. Stewart Ave.

Though Demario wasn’t on the school basketball team like this brother, he “was basically a part of the team, was always there supporting us,” said Ceddrick Hunter, the school’s basketball coach. “He was the unathletic one. They were twins, always together. He was a good kid, all-around good kid, always respectful.

“There was not an ounce of gang stuff with either one of them,” Hunter said. “He just wanted to be there for his brother, wanted to walk with him to practice to keep him safe.”

Word of the shooting quickly reached the school. Another boy ran the whole way there with the heartbreaking news.

Demario got good grades and didn’t get into trouble, according to Robin Callahan, an assistant junior varsity basketball coach, who said he and his twin are known around school as the “Bailey boys,” hard to tell apart because they’re identical.

“I know I speak for every educator who continuously deals with this type of tragedy in saying we are sick and tired of being sick and tired,” Johnson College Prep Principal Dr. Garland Thomas-McDavid said in an email.

“I speak for every mother who lives on the South Side of this city in saying we don’t mind if it takes [martial law] to get this in order,” Thomas-McDavid said.

Their mother, very protective of her sons, usually drove them most places, according to their aunt. But the boys were getting older and wanted more independence, Fitzpatrick said. On Saturday, she finally let them take the bus to practice.

“She let them go and now …,” Fitzpatrick said, her words trailing off, tears rolling down her cheeks.

School officials said a fund was being set up to help Bailey’s family pay for burial services, and that counseling would be provided for students and staff this week.

A $1,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest, community activist Andrew Holmes said. Anyone with information was asked to call 1-800-UTELLUS.

“We do so much to keep them out of trouble,” Callahan said. “But this not only tears our school apart, it tears our community apart.”

Officials initially said at least one person was taken into custody after the shooting, but those people had been released without charges as of Sunday morning.

BY MITCH DUDEK AND JON SEIDEL
Chicago Sun-Times

Under a dark viaduct in Englewood, four muggers stood in front of 15-year-old identical twins Demacio and Demario Bailey.

As they patted down Demacio for valuables Saturday afternoon, Demario shouted, “Get off my brother, he doesn’t have anything!”

One of the muggers turned his attention to Demario’s coat: a navy blue Columbia winter jacket.

But Demario refused to give it up. His mother, a single parent who waitresses at a South Side restaurant, recently spent hundreds of dollars on her sons’ coats, said their aunt and godmother, Sharron Lee.

So the mugger shot Demario, killing him, Lee said.

When his body was taken away, Demario’s mother wailed and shouted, “I want my baby back!”

Sunday afternoon, police said they’d caught the gunman who tore the inseparable brothers apart.

Carlos Johnson, 17, of the 6100 block of South King Drive, was charged as an adult with murder, robbery and attempted robbery. Johnson, who was also charged with another robbery that occurred shortly before Demario was killed, is due to appear in court Monday.

When asked about search for the three other muggers, a police spokesman said only that the investigation is ongoing.

The brothers were headed to their school, Johnson College Prep charter school, 6350 S. Stewart Ave., where Demacio had basketball practice Saturday. They were walking the half mile from the bus stop near the school when the muggers confronted the 6 foot tall brothers in the 0-100 block of West 63rd Street.

Demacio Sunday was being consoled by his tight-knit family. His mother routinely shuttled her boys around town to avoid Chicago’s violent streets, but let them take the bus that afternoon because she wasn’t feeling well, relatives said.

“Demacio is heartbroken,” said the boy’s aunt, Michelle Fitzpatrick.

The brothers -- three days shy of their 16th birthday -- planned to have a party at Dave & Busters on the Near North Side. Demario’s death also cast a pall over Christmas, the family said. The boys had yet to decorate the tree at their home in Chatham.

The pair were so close that Demario would often accompany his brother to basketball practice, even though Demario wasn’t on the team.

“He was deeply committed to his brother,” said Keticia Guter, a teacher at Johnson Prep. “They did everything together.”

Demario may not have excelled in sports like his bother, but, as part of the Puma Power Prep Squad at Johnson College Prep, he showed up at games to bang on a drum and amp up the crowd.

Classmates and teachers spoke of their bond: They were “Joined at the hip,” or “A package deal,” “Like shadows of each other.”

Demario dreamed of going to college, starting a career as a police officer or an attorney and moving his mother and brother away from Chicago’s violent streets, according to Demario’s classmate and close friend, Charles Kirk.

As a testament to what a beloved student he was, Chicago Public School administrators on Sunday took the rare step of allowing reporters into the school gymnasium, where teachers and classmates alike praised the honor roll student for his work ethic and bottomless good spirit.

“He was wonderful, absolutely wonderful, said teacher Rachel Terry. “He always wanted to go to office hours to get his GPA up… And he would always take off his glasses when he wanted to try to sleep,” she said with a laugh.

Demario’s friends said he would tease and prod them until they smiled.

“Every time I saw him he’d say, ‘What’s up, Michael Jordan?'” Shamay Miller recalled. “And I said, ‘Why do you call me that?,’ and he said, ‘Because your forehead is always shiny.'”

Demario Bailey / Sumbitted photo

As a freshman, Demario occasionally took off his glasses and posed as his brother. The gag didn’t work this year because Demario sported a fade hair cut and his brother had an afro, friends said.

“He was like one of them zesty people, he was always putting smiles on peoples’ faces,” said Kirk, who added that Demario wanted to attend the University of Illinois.

“We can honestly say he was a good kid who did not deserve this,” Johnson Principal Dr. Garland Thomas-McDavid told her students Sunday.

Earlier, in an email, Thomas-McDavid said: “I know I speak for every educator who continuously deals with this type of tragedy in saying we are sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

Thomas-McDavid added, “I speak for every mother who lives on the South Side of this city in saying we don’t mind if it takes [martial law] to get this in order.”

Jakia Powell, a sophomore at Johnson, said Demario’s death made her realize the pointlessness of petty arguments. On Sunday, she went around making peace with anyone she may have offended.

“Because you can be here one day and gone the next,” Powell said. “And I never even knew that Thursday was going to be my last time seeing him.”

Anyone wishing to donate to the family to help cover the cost of the funeral can do so by going to this link set up by administrators at Johnson College Prep.