KOKOMO, Ind. -- Teachers and students gathered Sunday evening at The Crossing, the Christian alternative school Lemarcus McGraw attended.
They were there to remember McGraw, 17, after he was killed Sunday afternoon in the 900 block of West Jefferson Street in Kokomo. Police believe it stemmed from a drug deal.
PREVIOUS | Kokomo Police: 17-year-old killed, two arrested in drug deal gone bad
Those at the school shared stories about McGraw with hopes that he'd be remembered for his passion for school and basketball, instead of the way he was killed.
"At The Crossing, we are so much a family," Amy Roe, a teacher at the school, said.
Roe was one of McGraw's teachers. She said he'd just joined a job training program last week, and had already impressed his bosses. He cherished that and basketball.
"What a beautiful young man he was," she said. "You know this was a struggle. This was something that he struggled with -- but I don't want him to be remembered for this."
A decision made in an alley behind the Village Pantry of West Jefferson Street that wiped it all away. Roe said the parent of one of McGraw's classmates found him and held him after he was shot.
"I told her God used her in a huge way today," she said. "And to know that she was there to love him in his last moments -- it's some consolation."
Officers located the suspect Kaliel Rucker, 21, of Kokomo several blocks away.
Police say Rucker had a handgun and admitted to shooting McGraw. Investigators also say they found a handgun at the scene.
Rucker is preliminarily charged with murder, possession of marijuana and dealing marijuana, according to police.
Officers say a 15-year-old was also preliminarily charged with attempted robbery, possession of marijuana and dealing marijuana.
But Roe says that will not be the final line in this teen's book of life.
"He had so many beautiful things about him," Roe said. "He was such an amazing young man. I just pray that people will remember those things about him and not this."
