Letrell Duncan, 16, was walking with friends when he was approached by two young men on Monday, Oct. 3, his aunt Marsha Douglas tells the New York Times. Something may have been said, but the teen "brushed it off," his aunt told the outlet.
They parted ways, and two others wearing black ski masks approached the teen and shot him at the corner of Lincoln Street and Park Avenue around 3 p.m. Letrell was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead that afternoon.
“I’m not sure what was said,” Douglas told The Times. “Something was said. Letrell brushed it off. “He was into school and he was into his basketball — that was it. Nothing else. School and basketball.”
Letrell served as the guard on the EOHS varsity basketball team, and was the captain of Garden State Bounce, a local club team.
More than $12,000 had been raised as of Wednesday, Oct. 5 on a GoFundMe for Terell's family.
The incident was being investigated by the Essex County Prosecutor's Office and Essex County Sheriff's Office.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force Tips Line at 1-877-847-7432, 1-877-TIPS-4EC, or the East Orange Police Department Tips Hotline at 973-266-5041. Calls will be kept confidential.
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