Community Remembers Manuel Luis, Morgan State Student Fatally Shot During Attempted Robbery
RIVERDALE, Md. (WJZ) -- The search for a killer continues as friends mourn the death of Manuel Luis, the Morgan State University student fatally shot in his car near the campus early Thursday.
Luis, 19, was gunned down during what police said was a robbery gone wrong outside an off-campus apartment complex on Loch Raven Boulevard.
Friends and coaches remembered Luis, nicknamed Manny, as a talented baseball player and 4.0 student during his time at Parkdale High School in Riverdale.
Just weeks ago, Luis was back at Parkdale to cheer on the baseball team.
"He was wearing his thick, varsity Letterman jacket in 90 degree weather because he was proud to be a panther," baseball coach William Poulakos said. "He was proud to be part of this Parkdale family."
Coaches and teammates took that opportunity to catch up with Luis, then a sophomore at Morgan State studying business.
That career path was cut short Thursday morning. Around 5 a.m., investigators found the 19-year-old's body in his car, the windows pierced by bullets.
Police said Luis had left his off-campus apartment around 2 a.m. to see family in Prince George's County. He barely made it past the security gates.
"A lot of emotions flooded back and it just hit you like a ton of bricks at that time, mostly because it's one of those instances where you say, 'I just saw him,'" said Parkdale athletic director Brian Moore.
In a statement Thursday, Morgan State called the killing, "a senseless act of gun violence."
Tributes from classmates poured in, showing the teen Moore said was eager to assist, eager to excel and now deeply missed.
"What hurts the most, is that he was the boy next door," Moore said. "He would be like your son, your brother, your cousin. He was that type of guy."
Anyone who may have witnessed the shooting or who has any information is urged to call police.