EUCLID, Ohio — Euclid Police say a juvenile from Euclid has been arrested in connection to the death of a 16-year-old early Sunday morning.
The homicide of Keshaun Lamar happened in the early hours of Sunday morning at an apartment complex on Brush Avenue near E 276th St. in Euclid.
“I was devastated. I was actually driving [when I found out] and I had to pull over. He was just a fixture in our school,” said Scott Caldwell, the school director at Frederick Douglass High School. “It’s going to be an adjustment, but at the end of the day, we’re going to remember him for all the good he brought to our school."
Caldwell described the 10th-grade charter student as an outgoing, fun-loving teenager.
“He was just a loving, kind, well-respected, well-mannered young man,” he said. “He was just an overall great, enjoyable kid to be around.”
Police said a juvenile suspect is currently in custody at the Cuyahoga County Detention Center in connection to Keshaun's death. Neighbors in the Euclid Apartments said the violence involving young people is alarming.
“Especially because they’re so young, they haven’t even had the chance to develop out of puberty," said a neighbor and father of a 13-year-old, who asked not to be identified. “You could say I’m a little overprotective, but it’s because I have to be.”
Euclid Councilman and mayoral candidate Marcus Epps spoke to News 5 Sunday evening, expressing his condolences to Keshaun's family and calling for change.
“Any time there’s loss of life, it’s saddening. But especially when it’s our youth, our young people,” said Councilman Epps. “To hear [Keshaun] lost his life last night right in his neighborhood where he lives, where it’s supposed to be safe, is obviously not ever good news.”
Caldwell told News 5 he doesn't want Keshaun to be defined by what happened to him, and he wants the violence to stop.
“I just want to encourage all the young people to just put the guns down. It’s just senseless and it’s reckless,” he said.
