NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk community members remembered and honored 14-year old, Amir Burnette in a candlelight vigil.
Amir was shot and killed in September in a house near East Virginia Beach Boulevard.
The 14-year-old was a football player at Norview Middle School and heavily involved in school.
With candles in hand, more than 50 people came together to honor the teen’s life outside of the school.
"We love you Amir," family and firends of Amir chanted.
Amir’s football coach and the head football coach at Norview Middle School, Tyrique Jenkins, says the 14-year-old was a stellar athlete.
"Amir was a very passionate kid," Jenkins said. "He loved to play the game. He never gave me a problem. It always ‘yes sir, no sir.’ He was the first person in line to get a drill done, he always wanted to catch a football and loved having a football in his hands."
Amir wore jersey number 4 and played wide receiver.
"The kids gravitated towards him," Jenkins said. "He was a leader. He could take a 5-yard pass and turn it into a touchdown. He was very athletic."
Amir’s family says there’s not a day that goes by where they don’t think about him and his funny personality.
"He loved to dance from a little baby, and he would just do things to make you smile," Tottayana Traynham, Amir Burnette's aunt, said. "That was my nephew, but we were like brother and sister."
Amir was killed before his football season started.
"He didn’t get to make his first game, but they’ve been winning every game they’ve played, and we know that he’s with them," Burnette said.
News
Norfolk police arrest man in shooting death of 14-year-old
Albert Sutton, 27, was arrested in connection to Amir’s murder.
Court documents say Sutton told police he was showing a gun to minors when the gun went off.
Court documents go on to say Sutton fled the scene and eventually returned and was arrested.
Sutton is charged with involuntary manslaughter and is being held without bond at the Norfolk City Jail.
