A recent high school graduate, he was on his way to college at the University of the District of Columbia. He worked at a restaurant to pay tuition. He was into boxing. 

He belonged to a nonprofit organization called Horton’s Kids, which helps children in the community. “He always said, ‘Mom, I want to do better,’ ” recalled his mother, Yolanda Pinkney. “He always said, ‘We’re moving.’ ”

Ta Quan Pinkney, 18, was caught in gunfire and killed on his way home on Sept. 9, 2018, after buying a soda from a corner store on Stanton Road in Washington, D.C.

He was a wide receiver for the Commandos at John Marshall Metropolitan High School in Chicago, Illinois. He was adored by his mother.

The week before his sweet sixteen, he went out to participate in a basketball tournament. It had been organized as “a platform” by community volunteers to keep kids in his neighborhood growing, safe, and competing. But a fight broke out. Another teenager had a gun.

Kenwon Parker, 15, died of gunshot wounds to the chest and was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital on Aug.16, 2018.

He was her best friend. They did everything together, from planning his 18th birthday and visiting Canalside to singing along to his favorite songs until a big, goofy smile lit up his face.

“This was really my baby y’all, my dawg, my everything,” she would later say. “We was tight like Lilo & Stitch.”

Jayvone J. Shackelford-Bishop, 17, nicknamed Molly by his friends, was fatally shot March 21, 2018, in Buffalo, New York. He had been working with Buffalo Peacemakers, a program that tries to stop violence.

He was active in his community as a member of the Kappa League Program (a fraternity-run mentoring program) and the McGavock High School football team, along with working two jobs.

According to his mother, “He did little silly things, but not enough to get in trouble or to deserve what he got.” “He always told me I love you,” she told reporters. 

On Dec. 6, 2018, while driving a gray Nissan Maxima on Dickerson Pike, Dontae Rodruis Drew was shot by someone in a trailing white pickup truck in Nashville, Tennessee. His passengers were unharmed in the targeted shooting. Drew had just turned 18.

Last summer, he stood in front of members of the Baltimore City Council and explained his research on teens who lacked opportunities while at a leadership program. Though he was nervous, his brother recalled, once he began to speak, the words poured out.

When family asked what he wanted for his recent 18th birthday, he said that he didn’t want to have a big celebration. Growing up in a troubled neighborhood, he told his mother that “I’m glad I made it to see 18.”

On Dec. 1, 2018, less than a week after his birthday, DaVonte Friedman was shot and killed in Baltimore, Maryland,

He had a work ethic beyond his years. The son of a Haitian immigrant, he worked at Taco Bell after school to help his mother. “It’s all about us,” his mother, Dieldrine Cherubin, told WMSV. He also served Nashville First Seventh-Day Adventist Church as a youth deacon.

Most of all, friends and family remember the light he brought. “He was just so nice — all the time,” said Dincy Cherubin of his older brother.

On April 30, 2018, Yudjy Farly Cherubin, 17, died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center after being shot in La Vergne, Tennessee. He was reportedly trying to buy an iPhone someone had posted for sale online.

From the photos she posted on Facebook, it looked like he had a great relationship with his mom.

She participated in events with him to raise awareness for children with special needs, like him. He was born with Down syndrome and grew up in a rural and peaceful community.

On Oct. 30, 2018, Caleb Logan Butts of Saint George, Georgia, 15, was found by his father with multiple gunshot wounds from a semiautomatic handgun. He and his grandmother died at the hands of his mother in a murder-suicide. His teachers and classmates at Baker County High School were heartbroken.

He volunteered at church and planted vegetables at the local community garden. A sharer, giver and helper, he was close to his community.

As an animal lover, he wanted to be a veterinarian when he graduated from CREC’s Impact Academy, a school where he was one of eight students selected to attend. A witty, charming and kind friend, he was a peaceful soul whose friends said that he kept them out of trouble.

Karlonzo A. Taylor, 17, of Hartford, Connecticut, was shot and killed in his apartment building on Dec. 5, 2018. His friend was wounded in the shooting.

He and his older sister often talked on the phone about grades, college and girls. He dreamt about getting out of Chicago after graduation.

He played football, mentored children and interned at a nursing home. He wanted to make his family proud.

On June 18, 2018, Erin Carey, 17, was shot multiple times in the head at a party in Chicago. Paramedics assumed he was dead and covered him with a sheet. An hour later, a bystander noticed he was still breathing and he was rushed to the hospital.  About 20 hours after he was shot, Carey was pronounced dead.

He was riding home on his bike in Hamilton, Ohio. He paused to talk to a friend.

He’d spent the day cleaning up at the Booker T. Washington Community Center. “You got any work for me — you got anything for me to do?” he’d ask, so eager to serve that he’d wait in the lobby until the next job. He played dodgeball, basketball and kickball. He was looking forward to football.

On Aug. 29, 2018, Jaraius Terrell Gilbert Jr., 13, was shot multiple times while chatting on the street. He was pronounced dead by the Butler County Coroner’s Office.