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Talekuz Kwalih Williams

Age 15

Charleston, South Carolina

Playing basketball, bullets came too easily

A student at West Ashley High School, he had already lost an older brother to gun violence. He liked to play basketball and dice. Sometimes, his fellow players had guns. “A recipe to die,” someone would say.

After it happened, children cried. They stood on the bloodstained pavement, trying to wash away the red with water. Others wrote “rest in peace” in chalk on the ground.

Talekuz Kwalih  Williams, 15, was shot at the Ashley Oaks outdoor basketball court in Charleston, South Carolina, on July 15, 2018. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene shortly after 8:45 p.m.

By Emily Mansell · 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