He wanted to join the U.S. Armed Forces, so his father would rouse him every morning for school with their little inside joke: “Hey Marine, wake up!”

Friends described him as a dreamer — his family moved to America from the Philippines to give their children a better life. He dreamed of serving his country, succeeding in school and making his family proud. He excelled at math. In his downtime, he loved playing video games.

Ryan Amadeo Dela Cruz, 17, was a senior at Franklin High School in Seattle. He was fatally shot on June 2, 2018, two weeks shy of his high school graduation.

His loved ones called him “JoJo.” He had “tons of energy, a positive attitude, and impeccable manners.” Teachers remembered him as helpful and sweet. They said he worked in school, even when it was a struggle.

He had a close relationship with his family. His grandmother would knit scarves, and he would wear them to school often. His mom supported him always. She describes him as having a “beautiful and pure heart.”

Jo'Markius Fuller, 18, was shot on East Hills Drive on June 30, 2018, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

He was a basketball player about to start his senior year of high school. He had enrolled in summer school so he could graduate early.

He was thinking about his future, planning to pursue entrepreneurship or forensic science. He had strong family bonds; he was close to his cousin Alfonzo. His sister Jomila was planning on surprising him in December with a car as a graduation gift. On July 28, 2018, he was sitting in the front seat of a car while a friend in the backseat played with a gun.

It went off. Lorenzo Moore-Vaughn, 17, was fatally shot in Black Jack, Missouri.

Her hair was freshly braided. Her birthday celebrations were continuing for another night. She was supposed to welcome her new niece or nephew into the world the next day.

The Central Georgia Technical College student was both book smart and street smart. She knew not to be on the streets at night. "She don't deal with the streets. Just goes to school, comes in here and goes to sleep," her mother said.

At 5 a.m. on May 10, 2018, Shondricka J'Nay Adams, 18, was fatally shot at the Davis Homes housing complex in Macon, Georgia. She should have been on her way to the hospital for the birth of her niece, born five hours after Shondricka’s death.

He had college aspirations and was a good student at Ferris High School. He had a beautiful smile and loved playing on the basketball and baseball teams. His nickname, according to his Facebook page, was “JayZero.”

He was the middle child of three kids. His older brother, Angel, was the one who found him. Angel heard a loud noise and ran to him.

Jayden Fondeur, 17, of Jersey City, New Jersey, was found lying on the ground unresponsive with a gunshot wound. He was killed on Sept. 18, 2018. It was the second of three fatal shootings in the area that month.

In a McCutcheon high school baseball game against the West Lafayette team, he ran between bases wearing his red and gold Mavericks uniform. A senior at The Excel Center, he also played basketball and football and loved music.

He was a science and math student in Jerilyn Smith’s sixth-grade classroom. “I saw so much potential, humor, intelligence and talent in this young man,” Smith said.

Jontae Billups-Brooks, 18, was shot on Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018, at a southside apartment complex in Lafayette, Indiana. He died soon after at Franciscan Alliance East Hospital.

As a kindergartener, reading and writing made her days special. When she wasn’t working on her alphabet, she was dancing — no matter what music was playing. She lit up the room.

She was a loyal sister, devoted to her brothers and always looking up to her oldest.

On May 16, 2018, Caydence Nicole Painter, 6, of Ponder, Texas, was shot and killed alongside her two brothers by her mother’s ex-husband, who also killed her boyfriend before turning the gun on himself. Her mother was shot but survived.

From an early age, he was a caring person. He would always help his grandmother with her chores when he came to visit.

As he got older, he became known as a shy, obedient teen. He never talked back to his elders.

Favian Isiah Carrillo Duran, 16, was shot on July 27, 2018, in Atwater, California, while visiting his cousin. He was flown to a trauma center and died there. His family was still in grief over a cousin, Ezekiel Juan Duran, who was killed in October 2017. “We haven’t even healed from the other one at all,” his uncle said.

He moved from West Africa to the United States when he was 3, the American dream in his future.

He wanted to be a doctor and also wanted to be a YouTuber. The 18-year-old posted videos of himself in the car with a friend, dancing in a bathroom to music and vlogging.

On Dec. 29, 2018, in Phoenix, Arizona, five men attempted to rob Telvin Goll. Three of the five men forced open his apartment door and started shooting at him. Phoenix Police Department Sgt. Tommy Thompson said police believe drugs were involved. Goll died at the scene.

She had pink-painted nails and wore a yellow T-shirt in a photo holding up the “peace” sign.

She was described as an exceptional student. After school, the fifth-grader would attend the C.A.N.E.S club at George Washington Intermediate and help her friends with their homework.

On Tuesday morning, Oct. 16, 2018, police were called to a two-story yellow home in New Castle, Pennsylvania, where Amariah C. Emery, 10, was found killed alongside her mother, Nichole Pumphrey, and Lawrence Cannon in a triple homicide.