Family of teen killed at Philadelphia bus stop mourns loss during balloon release: "He was a good kid"
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Family, friends and loved ones of Dayemen Taylor, 17, honored his life Wednesday during a balloon release outside of Imhotep Charter School in Philadelphia.
Taylor was a junior at the school, where dozens of people gathered to celebrate the young man described as a great kid who loved to joke, laugh and have fun. The Fern Rock teen died after being shot at a SEPTA bus stop in Philadelphia's Ogontz neighborhood Monday afternoon. The shooting also injured two women and two other Imhotep students.
"He was a good kid," Taylor's cousin Pastor Deice said. "He loved people. The school loved him."
"It's rough," Deice said. "It's rough for his mother, his dad [and] his uncles. This is hard."
Police said they believe Taylor was targeted in the shooting, but his family said that was not the case.
"We say that for everybody. Every Black person that gets killed, [it's] somebody targeted. So, no," Deice said.
The 17-year-old grew up playing youth football and baseball. His coach Marc Bredell said he was not in the streets and did not deserve what happened to him.
Bredell voiced his frustration with the issue of gun violence that continues to take too many lives in the city.
"My question to the city is, 'What are we going to do?'" Bredell said. "We keep talking about crime prevention, but what are we doing?"
Philadelphia Police told CBS News Philadelphia that there are no new updates in the case but want to remind the public that there is a $20,000 reward for anyone with information that can help lead to an arrest.
Police are encouraging anyone with information to contact them.
