Maurice Scott broke into bashful smiles as he talked about the monuments and museums of his hometown in a video produced at Somerset Prep DC, the charter school in Southeast Washington where he was in ninth grade.
On Monday, the video circulated online, as friends and family grieved for the 15-year-old, who was fatally shot in the city’s Congress Heights neighborhood, two blocks from his school.
Somerset Principal Lauren Catalano said the clip captured the spirit and personality of Maurice, whom she described as a talented athlete and creative video production student with “the best sense of humor.”
“Maurice’s smile lit up the school, you couldn’t help but smile back when you saw his dimples come through,” she said in an email.
She said the youth’s “legacy will live on through his twin sister Melissa,” who also attends Somerset.
In a letter to Somerset parents on Monday, Catalano said the school is heartbroken over the shooting. She said students would be let out of class early on Tuesday for a chance to meet with grief counselors.
Police said no arrests had been made in the shooting, which happened Sunday morning outside a commercial strip in the 3500 block of Wheeler Road SE. Two women and a girl were wounded.
Semere Abraha, who owns the Holiday Market convenience store at the site, was stocking shelves near the entrance when the shots were fired. Several people rushed inside for cover, he said.
In surveillance video footage of the parking lot, captured by Abraha’s security system and viewed by The Washington Post, a young man can be seen sprinting to the entrance and placing his hand on the door handle. He then falls to the ground, glass exploding and showering around him.
The shooter stepped out of the front passenger seat of a car in the parking lot and opened fire with what police later described as a “long gun or rifle.”
Police said they are searching for a light-colored, four-door sedan in an older model last seen headed south on Wheeler Road SE.
Scott was pronounced dead at a hospital, police said. A short time later, the other victims walked into the same hospital. All were expected to survive.
The shooting remained under investigation, police said.
In the minute-long Somerset Prep video posted to Facebook on Monday by D.C. Councilman Trayon White Sr. (D-Ward 8), Maurice’s eyes trail off camera for a moment before a teacher prompts him with questions about living in the nation’s capital.
“If you come visit, you should visit the White House,” the teen says with a nod.
About himself, Maurice adds: “I like to chill. I like to laugh. I like to joke around. Be coolin’.”
Comments posted underneath the video lamented the loss of the young life to violence in the community.
In her letter, Catalano wrote: “We must lean on each other and wrap our arms around our precious children to keep them safe and loved.”
A candlelight vigil is planned for June 8, she said.
Perry Stein contributed to this report.