NEW ORLEANS — Monday night, 15-year-old Raynard Williams Jr. was shot and killed in Algiers.
NOPD responded to General Meyer and Murl and found the boy unresponsive on the ground, suffering from a gunshot wound. Community advocate Michael Willis happened to be in the area at the time and heard gunshots.
Willis is old friends with Williams' family.
He says the teen's father is on the way to New Orleans from out of state while other family members are still in shock. He says Williams wasn't a bad kid.
"I don't hear anything bad about him. I haven't heard anything bad about him," Willis said.
Williams was a student at L.B. Landry. Tuesday, the Algiers Charter School Association released a statement to WWL Louisiana offering their condolences to the boy's family.
"With heavy hearts, we mourn the loss of one of our beloved students, a student of great promise. Their passing has left us grappling with sorrow, as the student was a beloved member of our school family.
During this challenging time, we offer unwavering support to our community, understanding the grief we all share. Our counseling team is available for emotional support as needed.
Together, we honor the student's memory and support each other through this heartbreaking loss."
Willis says the high school, along with others around the metro, are suffering from gun violence.
"It's like we seeing the same thing happening over and over and over again," Willis, who attended LB Landry, said. "We're trying to figure out how these trending cycles keep repeating itself. And what can we do now more collectively, as a school as a community, and do more for the youth."
Willis runs HOPE, a nonprofit that helps New Orleans youth, and says kids are being exposed to violence without resources to help them. He says programs like his are trying but it's not enough. Willis says city officials need to do more.
"We always have a conversation about whether we were going to do more for the youth, or we're going to do the youth master plan. We're going to do this, we're going to do that. It's a great conversation for the moment, but I never see the follow-up," Willis said.
According to the Metropolitan Crime Commission, Williams is the second juvenile to be fatally shot this year.
NOPD says the incident is still under investigation.
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