BROOKLYN — A teenager shot and killed in East New York last week was remembered as a rising soccer star and a loyal friend by his classmates and relatives who called for an end to the “senseless” gun violence that cut his life short.
“He was a good kid with a good heart,” said Jay Nash, 47, the father of 16-year-old Denzel Nash, who was fatally shot in the head Thursday night by a 15-year-old friend while playing a Madden NFL video game.
“I don’t want anybody to go through what I’m going through. Not even on my worst enemy do I wish that he would have to bury his child.”
The 15-year-old had scored a touchdown in the game, and decided to celebrate the score by taking out a gun and waving it around, the New York Post reported. It accidentally discharged, striking Nash in the head, according to the Post.
On Friday, police arrested the 15-year-old shooter, whose name was not released because of his age, on charges of manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon.
Nash, who relatives said lived in Flatbush and East New York, was a student at the High School of Enterprise, Business, and Technology at East Williamsburg’s Grand Street Campus and was well known by friends and classmates for his soccer skills, his family said.
The teen earned the attention of college coaches during his freshman year, according to former coach, Johnny Chavez, and helped bring a city championship win to his school.
“He was very good,” said Chavez, 30, head coach of the boy’s soccer team and athletic director at the Grand Street Campus. “He had a lot of potential to go to college and play for Division I soccer.”
Family members described him as “determined,” “fearless,” and “infectious,” making friends wherever he went.
He was a skilled athlete, they added, and even when he broke his foot and had a cast on, they couldn’t keep him away from a soccer ball.
As an uncle, brother, and cousin, Nash was inseparable from his nephew and respectful to his relatives, family members said, and as a teammate, he was playful and helpful, apologizing to his team when things didn’t go as planned, his coach said.
Denzel Nash (right) was a talented soccer player who drew the attention of college coaches, family and his former coach said. (Photo Credit: Andre Johnson)
Fellow classmates remembered the teen for his humor, saying that he always made jokes and looked out for those around him.
“Denzel would always make sure nothing happened to nobody,” said Tyrone Kennedy, 17.
“He always had your back no matter what. The whole time I’ve known him I’ve never seen him with an angry or sad face, he was always laughing or smiling.”
Nash dreamed of being a professional soccer player, relatives said, but had taken a break from the sport during his junior year due to his grades, according to Chavez.
Some mentioned that he had started hanging around a different crowd, but that he talked about making a return to the game this year.
“Kids are kids. They act up, they need discipline, they need guidance, he had all of that,” said his aunt, Paddy Nash.
“He was a kid. And some kids get lost and they find themselves. Denzel was a kid, surrounded with a lot of people keeping him on the path...Unfortunately, he got cut down due to senseless, poor gun laws. He was never given the opportunity to find out who he was going to be.”
Nash “wasn’t a product of the streets" and had a strong support system behind him, relatives added.
After the holidays, he returned from volunteering in North Carolina, they said.
In the aftermath of Nash's death, his family and Chavez called for a change, criticizing the ease with which teens can access guns on city streets.
Angela Meloni, a teacher at the Grand Street Campus who set up a GoFundMe page over the weekend to assist with the teen’s funeral expenses, wrote that she was “heartbroken and sickened” over the loss.
The campaign had raised more than $9,000 as of Tuesday morning.
Chavez also started a separate fundraising campaign to help Nash’s family.
“It’s not just impacting families, it's impacting people who are teaching these kids, who are raising these kids and trying to put them on the right path,” said the teen’s uncle, Dwayne Nash, 51.
“Because some idiot wants to give a gun to a [15]-year-old, all your hard work just gets destroyed…That’s one of the most important messages: that the government, the police, does something to control the amount of guns that are being put out on our streets.”
