At Joey Goodwin’s art class in the basement of Augsburg Fairview Academy, there is an empty seat, and a message of love written on his desk.

“Long live Joey,” it reads. “We will all miss you,” and the initials AFA.

“Joey was a tall, gentle giant,” recalls Heidi Anderson, the academy’s executive director. “He had a head full of hair, and everybody knew him and loved him at school.”

“He was a really special kid,” adds Chris Harer, one of the academy’s English teachers. “Really a beautiful soul.”

Goodwin, a 17-year-old junior, started attending classes there in October.

Fellow students, teachers and staff were shocked to learn he was one of four victims who were shot and killed along 25^th Street in the Midtown neighborhood Tuesday night.

“When you hear there was a shooting and knowing that it’s at Little Earth or on Bloomington and 25th, these are the neighborhoods our kids live in,” Anderson says quietly. “It makes me sick to my stomach, thinking that could be someone I know, and it usually is.”

Goodwin’s classmates didn’t want to speak during our visit, but one girl showed 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS the painting she made for him, portraying an angel.

It too says, ‘long live Joey’ along with the words, ‘you’ll be missed,’ with a heart symbol nearby.

Anderson also showed KSTP a still life that Goodwin painted before his death.

Days after the shooting, many at the academy are still stunned.

“I was shocked, I couldn’t believe it,” Harer declares. “Felt like I had just seen him.”

He recalls Goodwin as a voracious reader, especially about Indigenous culture — one of those kids who drew people to him.

“He had so much more ahead of him, really good things ahead of him,” Harer says. “To have that cut short and feeling like it was almost stolen from him.”

Anderson says she visited Goodwin’s family Friday morning.

“They are destroyed,” she explains. “I mean, Joey is… was a very positive kid, and he brought a lot of energy and light into a room. And he leaves a big hole in their hearts. They’re hurting right now, and I think it’s going to take a long time to recover.”

Some yarn material, requested earlier by Goodwin for a project, was brought to the school the day after his death.

Staffers say it will be made into a blanket and presented to his family.

There are also plans to plant a flowering crab apple tree as a living memorial to Goodwin’s life.

“It would leave a very nice space for his family to be able to come and remember him, too,” Anderson says.

The academy is working on getting grief counselors to help students work through the loss of their friend. Anderson says it’s important for the community to know who Goodwin was and to honor his life, cut tragically short.  

“That’s why we’re hoping to share as much as we can about him, so he’s not forgotten,” she declares. “Because he was an incredible kid.”