TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — On Jul. 15, 16 year old Joshua Purcell, a Leon High School student was found shot and killed in the parking lot of Bethel AME Church in Tallahassee after football practice.
"He was just there to lighten the mood and make everybody laugh, even when we was down to our worst," said classmate Darell Williams. "He just kept the vibes straight. Just good vibes."
Now, the Omega Lamplighters, an organization that meant so much to Purcell, is keeping his spirit alive.
"We're all a family, so when a member of the family hurts, we're all hurting so when you lose a member, expecially to gun violence, it's even more severe," said Royal King, founder of the Omega Lamplighters.
To help with the healing, the Joshua Purcell Game Room was unveiled at The Life Center in Tallahassee. A room now filled with more than just games.
"We're not just gonna sit in pain," said King. "We're gonna memorialize our brother, but also we're going to do something positive with it, so that other kids have a safe place to go."
That safe space was visited by the aunts that raised Purcell.
"It's just so amazing that that room is named after my nephew," said Lashun Boyd.
Who are hoping for answers about what happened that July night.
"We hope and pray that at some point soon that these slaughterers will be brought to justice because that's what my nephew was, slaughtered," said Boyd. "He was just a 16 year old skinny kid trying to come home from football practice."
As his family and community look for closure, they now have a special place to remember the teenager who meant so much to them.
We reached out to the Tallahassee Police Department for an update on this case. We have not yet heard back.
If you have any information that can assist in the investigation, you're asked to call TPD or Crime Stoppers.
