On the way home from school, Tony's classmates gathered outside the condominium where he was killed. "R.I.P. Tony" and "We Miss You" had been spray-painted on the steps and windows around the doorway.
Hassan Bah, 16, a friend from school, said Tony wasn't known to belong to a gang. "He was a cool boy," Bah said. "He had friends who were gang members but he didn't hang with them."
A memorial to Tony Campos in his family's living room in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County includes a photo of the 15-year-old Annandale High sophomore and rosary beads.
(Dudley M. Brooks -- The Washington Post)
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Bianca Campos, 14, Tony's sister, said her brother was a big fan of the Xbox he got for Christmas and loved movies and cars. Tony also was a fan of Tupac Shakur's and had a poster of the rapper on his bedroom wall.
On Sunday, family members said, dozens of people packed the house for a prayer ceremony, and a priest blessed Tony's room. Many brought flowers, and others slipped donations to help cover funeral expenses into a slot cut into a box covered in white paper.
Johnny Campos said he used to belong to a gang but left years ago. He wouldn't say what gang he was affiliated with but said his experience prompted him to warn his brother to stay away from gang life.
"I told him not to follow in my footsteps and pushed him to the other side of the road," Johnny Campos said.
Tony never had been arrested or suspended from school, Johnny Campos said. He said Tony was not a great student and "scraped by" in school but had a knack for working with his hands. He'd spend hours putting together elaborate model cars.
"He was lovable, like one of those teddy bears you just hold," Johnny Campos said.
The Camposes said yesterday that they didn't know when Tony would be buried, but they selected the clothes he will be buried in and folded them neatly on chair in the living room: blue jeans, a black Oakland Raiders jersey and spotless brown boots that were a Christmas gift. Tony wore the boots only once.
Staff writer Leef Smith contributed to this report.
