Family, Friends Mourn East Orange Student Killed In Shooting

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — The Essex County community continues to mourn for a beloved student-athlete who died in a shooting in East Orange earlier this week.

On Thursday, family and friends were among those on hand for a candlelight vigil to mourn Letrell Duncan. The vigil – held in Rowley Park in East Orange – paid homage to the 16-year-old’s short-but-inspiring life, and drew hundreds of people to the park.

Duncan, a sophomore and standout basketball player at East Orange Campus High School, was found on the 100-block of Lincoln Street with multiple gunshot wounds around 3:15 p.m. on Monday, just after school let out for the day. He was taken to University Hospital in Newark and pronounced dead at 3:45 p.m., according to a statement from the Essex County Prosecutor's Office and the East Orange Police Department.

The shooting took place in a residential neighborhood near multiple schools, ABC New York reported. It was captured on surveillance video, which shows a crowd of students fleeing, apparently as gunshots take place, CBS New York stated.

The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force is investigating the fatal shooting. No arrests have been made.

The superintendent of the East Orange Public School District, the city’s mayor and a councilwoman have issued statements in the wake of the shooting, decrying the violence and asking the community to support the family. Read More: Teen Fatally Shot In East Orange; School District Condemns Violence

The mourning hasn’t been confined to East Orange. Community activists in nearby Newark have also been gathering in support of the late youth, including Bashir Muhammad Ptah Akinyele, a history and African studies teacher at Weequahic High School, who called the shooting an act of “senseless community violence.”

On Wednesday, the Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura announced that the Essex County Sheriff’s Crime Stoppers Program is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for Duncan’s death.

Authorities said anyone with information can contact the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office tips line at 1-877-TIPS-4EC or 1-877-847-7432, or the East Orange Police Department Tips Hotline at 973-266-5041.

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