QUEENS — A Long Island man who was gunned down on a Jamaica street was remembered by friends Thursday as a role model who encouraged younger kids to stay in school and out of trouble.
Euton Christian, 22, was shot twice in the torso at 156th Street and 111th Avenue late Wednesday, police said.
"I told my husband but then didn't go out," said a 28-year-old woman who lives nearby. "Only when the cops arrived I walked out and saw this guy lying on the ground."
Christian died a short time later at Jamaica Hospital.
"It's just devastating for me," said Robert, 24, a neighbor who knew Christian for more than 10 years. "He's a really cool kid. He's like a brother to me."
Robert, who declined to give his last name, said Christian was a father figure to his younger siblings.
"That kid, he's the head of the family, a model to his two brothers and sister," he added.
Teenagers in the Valley Stream neighborhood where Christian lived looked up to him.
"He's like a hero in the neighborhood," said Alnamy Traore, 14, who was biking near Christian's home. "Everyone wants to follow him.
"He's the coolest kid around here," Traore added.
Christian encouraged teens in the area to follow through on their education.
"The first thing whenever he met us, he always told us to stay in school and behave ourselves," said Roshane James, 14.
No one has been arrested in the shooting, police said.
