Fundraiser Aids Worcester Shooting Victim Sterling Baptiste Jr.

WORCESTER, MA — The father of a 14-year-old who died Friday in a shooting in the Bell Hill neighborhood is raising money to pay for his funeral expenses.

Sterling Baptiste Jr., a North High School freshman, was shot inside a Rodney Street apartment Friday afternoon. A 16-year-old and a second person under age 18 have been charged in connection to the shooting, police have said.

Baptiste's family called the shooting a "senseless act of violence." Worcester police have not released specifics about what led to the shooting.

"Sterling was a wonderful son, and he deserves a beautiful and proper send off. In order to give him the farewell he deserves, we are humbly asking for your support in contributing towards the expenses. Your generosity and prayers during this difficult time would mean the world to us," the boy's father, Sterling Baptiste, wrote in a GoFundMe appeal.

The fundraiser is seeking to raise $15,000, and was near $13,000 as of Wednesday morning.

Baptiste was the third young person in Worcester to die by gun violence since February. Zella Nunez, 11, died in early March along with her mother after two men opened fire on their car in the Columbus Park neighborhood, according to police. A 17-year-old was shot and killed in the Union Hill neighborhood in February.