Vigil Held For Teen Gunned Down In NW Miami-Dade

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- A community came together Tuesday night for a prayer vigil in honor of a teen shot to death at a Northwest Miami-Dade apartment complex.

A memorial to 15-year-old Joewuan Coles stands at the spot where he was killed in front of the building along Northwest 17 Avenue and Northwest 76 Street.

"Never in a million years I would have thought this would have been me," the boy's mother, Nadia Coles, said at the vigil. "He didn't bother nobody. You can't find nobody in this community, nowhere in the world, that will say nothing negative about my Popcorn."

"Popcorn", as he was known to friends and family, was a student a Northwestern High School.

Loved ones say he had plans to try out for the football team and had a job lined up at a community center.

But all that changed Monday night, when Miami-Dade Police said the boy was gunned down while playing craps with friends.

Click here to watch Lauren Pastrana's report. 

Investigators said two people fired with high powered assault rifles, leaving bullet holes in the buildings.

Four young men in their twenties were also hurt.

"I seen blood coming out of his eye," Joewuan's friend Dwayne Nelson said. "And all I could do was cry."

The tears were still flowing Tuesday night as the community came together in prayer.

Coles' loved ones leaned on each other for support.

"He'll be missed. I just wish I could bring him back," said Joseph McFadden, Coles' brother.

"He was really loved and he was a good person," said Coles' girlfriend, Kymisha Robinson.

Tranell Harris stopped by the vigil to express her condolences.

She lost her son, 16-year-old Richard Hallman, to gun violence in Overtown in March.

"It's too much violence going on. It's the babies dying everyday. Not even the older people. It's the babies," Harris told CBS4's Lauren Pastrana.

This time, it was Nadia Coles' baby and she has a message to parents everywhere.

"Grab your kids. Love your kids. Hug them. Sit them down and let them know you can come tell me anything," Coles stressed. "Because when your child leaves out the door, it's no guarantee that he's coming back in."

A "Peace Walk" is scheduled for May 30th at Gibson Park in Overtown.

There are security cameras pointed at the spot where the shooting happened, but the owner of the cameras told CBS4 they don't work.

Anyone with information about the case should call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

You maybe eligible for a reward, and you can remain anonymous.