PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Loved ones gathered Thursday evening to honor Antonio Walker Jr., the 15-year-old star student and athlete who was shot and killed in Southwest Philly this week.
Metallic blue balloons that spelled his name lined the fence of Bartram Field, where he once ran. Hundreds of people showed up with tears in their eyes to remember the boy.
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"People keep saying, 'You’re so strong,' They don’t realize that everybody that’s here is bringing me strength," said Walker's mother, Nydisha Williams.
She held up two cardboard cutouts of her son.
"I was gifted these," she said.
One of them was the last picture she took with him just two weeks ago. The other one: "This is my favorite, because this was his absolute proudest moment. This was before the Penn Relays, but this was his championship, and you see he got three first-place medals. So, this picture is very important to me."
She says what’s also important for her is for everyone to know how special Antonio was.
"Engineering; he loved science; he loved STEM. He cared about his carbon footprint. He cared about global warming. Honor roll student, deep thinker," she said, "We can go all night."
Walker was killed on Tuesday. He was shot through the chest and arm. Police say he was playing basketball with his cousin, and they have no reason to suspect the kids were targeted.
So far in 2021, the number of kids shot and killed in Philadelphia is already three times greater than this same time in 2020, which was a record-breaking year for gun violence.
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No arrests have been made yet, as the investigation is still ongoing.
Walker's funeral will be held on Saturday.
KYW Newsradio's Kristen Johanson contributed to this report.