The shooting murder of an 18-year-old who was part of a famous New Orleans music family has left the city reeling.
Tuba player Revell Andrews, the cousin of "Trombone Shorty" Troy Andrews, was killed on Monday.
Andrews' family said he was fatally shot in the head at an incident on off St. Claude Avenue in the Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans.
Police said the shooting happened at about 2:45 p.m. on Monday and it has yet to apprehend a suspect. The family believed the shooting was not targeted.
"He lost his life for absolutely nothing. He was not that kind of child running the streets, nothing like that. This kind of senseless violence is what he was avoiding," his aunt Toranzette Andrews told Eyewitness News.
She added "he was the only tuba player in the Andrews family" band and an A-grade student who had just graduated from McDonogh 35 Senior High School. He was set to attend Southern University in the fall.
Andrews' mother, Deanna Andrews, attended a vigil for her son alongside other members of the musical family. Hundreds of people gathered at Tubafats Square in the Treme to celebrate the life of the teen.
"Hurts because my son don't deserve what he got, he wasn't that type of person for nobody to walk up and kill like that," she told Eyewitness News.
His grandmother Debra Andrews added: "He was a very sweet child and he did everything for his grandmother. He loved me very much and I loved him. He was a beautiful child, he really was."
Despite their grief, the family was adamant they would fight for justice for the slain teen.
"It's so sad, but we want justice," Toranzette told FOX8Live. "We want justice to be served because he lost his life for absolutely nothing."
"This kind of senseless violence, he was avoiding. We're not going to stop. We're going to contact NOPD, we want the mayor involved, we want Jason Williams involved, cause we're going to get justice cause we lost a part of our family. That was a major part of our family."
Trombone Shorty has yet to speak publicly about his cousin's murder. Newsweek has contacted the musician via email for comment.
The Andrews family is one of New Orleans' key music family dynasties, which started with Shorty's grandfather and singer, Jesse Hill. They were key to helping rebuild the city after Hurricane Katrina and played in Jackson Square just 17 days after the devastating hurricane hit the city in 2005.
NOPD has called on anyone with information on the shooting to contact them at 504-658-5300, or by anonymously calling Crimestoppers on 504-822-1111.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more
