COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Friends and former classmates of 19-year-old Jack Smith, a 2010 graduate from Coronado High School, huddled together in the cold Monday night at the spot where Smith was gunned down, to remember him.
"He'd put a smile on your face, and he was just an amazing guy, and if you needed him for whatever reason he was always there for you," Desiree Brewer, a friend of Smith's, said.
Other friends had similar memories.
"We're here more for celebration of his life rather than mourning, just remembering the good times that we did have with him and the times that we wish we could have had with him," Seamus McCarty, also Smith's friend, said.
Police won't confirm exactly what happened, but friends of Smith said he died sticking up for his friend at a party.
"He just tried to walk away, and these kids pulled out a gun and fired two rounds at Cody (his friend) trying to kill him," McCarty said. "And Jack went up and was like 'just put the gun down, you don't need to do this, you don't need to do this' and then basically the kids put the gun down and he (Jack) started walking away, and then they just shot him in the back."
Friends of Smith said he was always putting others first.
"He was a good guy, he was an amazing guy, he got everybody's back, and he was just there for you," Brewer said.
Those closest to him said he won't be forgotten.
"We love him. We're all here for him, we always will be," McCarty said. "He's always gonna be in our hearts and in our memories."
Police said that while they know they have the shooter in custody, more charges could be coming for whoever held the party and gave booze to underage kids.
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Original story:
Colorado Springs police have arrested a 16-year-old boy in connection with a shooting that resulted in the death of a 19-year-old early Sunday morning.
The victim is 19-year-old Jack Smith of Colorado Springs. Police charged the boy who allegedly shot Smith with first degree murder, and he is currently in the Spring Creek Juvenile Detention Center.
Police found Smith lying in the street in the 900 block of S. 25th Street around 2:03 a.m. Sunday. Smith was transported to Memorial Hospital, where officials pronounced him dead.
The El Paso County Coroner's Office ruled the death a homicide Monday and said the cause was a gunshot wound. It is the 24th homicide in Colorado Springs in 2010.
Police said they are not looking for any other suspects but continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death.
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