Vigil held for Providence teen shooting victim

The Providence community coming out in numbers to show support for the family of the 15 year-old boy killed outside his school on Wednesday.

William Parsons was waiting for his father to pick him up that day when he was shot by a 16 year-old boy. Police say he was not the intended target.

As school let out on Friday, a large crowd packed the city corner as a vigil and balloon release was held for the boy many revered as a hard worker and a good student with big dreams.

"He loved school. He was a straight-A student. That’s why he has so much support here," said Joann Horton, William’s aunt. "He’s the last kid in the world you would expect this to happen to."

Horton said Parsons was a quiet boy with a loving personality to those he was fond of.

"He had a joking manner about him and if it was someone he really like or he really trusted he wanted to make them smile," she said. "He just wanted to make something out of his life."

"Trust me, that’s the prime example of the type of child you want. [He] played basketball. [He] wanted to be a state trooper," said Parsons’ uncle, Treze Parson. "I just cut the kid’s hair Monday. I was complimenting him on how good he looks."

The family left heartbroken and continuing to wonder how this could happen to such a great kid.

"He didn’t start no problems with nobody," said his sister, Tatiyana Parsons with tears in her eyes. "It’s a shame they did this to my brother. My brother was only 15 years-old."

The family along with speakers in the community were calling on the young crowd to take action to stop gun violence in the streets.