Cassandra Hall shielded her eyes as she looked out at the sweat- and tear-streaked faces gathered on a north Minneapolis corner on Friday evening.
Several people held signs, while others released blue balloons into the air in memory of 18-year-old Dayigin Broadus, who was fatally shot on the same corner at Lowry and Fremont avenues N. on Wednesday.
Broadus, who went by "Gin," was shot while fleeing a fight that had broken out in the parking lot of the public library branch across the street, according to acquaintances. He died at a hospital.
It was a sad, sudden death for a young man who had showed so much promise, Hall said.
"You know how after a murder, all of a sudden [the victim] turns into an angel and all of a sudden he was the best person in the world — that wasn't Dayigin," she said. "He wasn't a bad kid; he didn't run the streets like most kids."
The vigil, held in a grassy plot next to a beauty salon, was organized by longtime anti-violence advocate K.G. Wilson. As the sun set, family members joined hands in a prayer circle and asked for guidance during a trying time.
Across the street, two Minneapolis police SUVs stood guard because, as several attendees pointed out, such gatherings sometimes invite further violence.
Broadus had been the youngest of five siblings — two girls and three boys. One of his brothers, Carl, remembered him as "caring" and an avid gamer who spent his days playing games like "God of War" and "Grand Theft Auto."
