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Jayla Summayah T. Green

Age 16

Newark, New Jersey

New school. Treasured child. Candlelight vigil.

She had recently transferred to a new school, where she was a cheerleader. She was loved: Her mother appears to have a necklace-like tattoo of her only child’s first initial and, below it, the word “mom.”

At her mother’s request, local activists brought balloons to University Hospital, where they had taken her. “Nothing will ever be the same,” her mother posted.

Jayla Summayah T. Green, 16, was shot in the head on Jan. 26, 2019, in Newark, New Jersey, while attending a candlelight vigil for two friends killed in a car crash. She died two days later. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka called the shooting a “cowardly act of hatred.”

By Holly Kauck · Age 17
Meet the Reporters

More than 300 athletes

Elisha Amon Cole

Dreaming big, working on his portfolio

Taveon Donte' Brooks

Basketball point guard, would-be rapper

Natwan Kian Holyfield

Supposed to go to homecoming, prom

Orlando Myron Anderson Jr.

He was so full of life

Sharon Castro

She always helped those who struggled

Avi Liam Franco

He loved to learn and explore

Zyhame Kila Jones

An artist, basketball player and car-lover

Kendrick D. Davis

Not quite clear on his dreams

Lorenzo Moore-Vaughn

About to start his senior year

Jeremiah Ascencio

Last moments spent cradling his brother

Vicente Valero III

He was a modern Renaissance man

James Alexzander Shorter

He’ll never taste grandma’s cookies again

Jayden Fondeur

His older brother found him first

Jontae Billups-Brooks

An athlete and a music lover

Ray Glasgow III

Bench wears jersey instead of captain

Ra’Quan Darius Jones

Didn’t get to see his GED

Ta Quan Pinkney

Bright future; gone too soon

Ricky Lamar Green Jr.

His children never saw him box

Jovontia Antonio Jones

A runner grieved by seven siblings

Brandon Nathan Tyson

Friday night lights end in tragedy