Loved ones remember 16-year-old gunned down near Dunbar High School

Loved ones of a teenager gunned down in the District poured their hearts out Saturday night during a vigil. 

Sixteen-year-old Maurice Jackson was shot and killed on Sept. 26, near the intersection of New Jersey Avenue and P Street in Northwest D.C., blocks away from Dunbar High School. 

Gospel hymns and royal blue balloons surrounded a Southeast D.C. parking lot, painful symbols and a reminder of a young life cut incredibly short. 

A senseless tragedy is how those who knew and loved Maurice Jackson, known as Moe J, described his death. 

“I’m really devastated, and to be honest, I can’t even think. I don’t have any words. I know my faith is being tested,” an aunt, who did not want to provide her name, said. 

She said she didn’t want Jackson’s death to go in vain. So she, along with his relatives and friends, decided to light blue candles and release blue balloons, as it was the teen’s favorite color. 

“He was a lovable person, like I said. Everybody loved him. Everybody loved him, such a good person,” his aunt said. 

According to police, Jackson was shot and killed while leaving Dunbar High School. Video surveillance showed him talking with another group before a fight broke out. Someone pulled out a gun and fired at the teen, and he can be seen limping across the street. 

He was rushed to the hospital, where he died. 

D.C. investigators said they are looking for two suspects in connection with the shooting. 

Back at the vigil, Jackson’s loved ones are echoing what so many families have shared with

News4 this week about the gun violence inside the District.

“I don’t know the right words to say right now about gun violence. I’m just tired of it, I hate it, it’s redundant, it’s absurd,” his aunt said. “To the young kids, to teenagers, when your parents tell you to do something, it’s not that they’re trying to chastise you or be a mean parent, they’re just looking after you.”