Monessen community holds vigil for teen killed in shooting
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
A memorial for Amari Altomore was set up for a vigil at Ninth Street Park in Monessen Dec. 1.
By Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
A crowd gathered for a candlelight vigil in Monessen on Thursday night in memory of Amari Altomore.
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
Friends and family turned out to remember Amari Altomore on Thursday night in Monessen.
MONESSEN – Dozens of people poured into Ninth Street Park in Monessen Thursday night to hold a candlelight vigil for 16-year-old Amari Altomore, who was shot and killed in the city earlier this week.
The show of love and support for Altomore meant a great deal to the family who was present.
“Thank you, from the bottom of my broken heart, I thank each and every one of them,” said Diane Holiday, Altomore’s grandmother, of the crowd. “This is not just a family that lost someone. This is a community that lost a 16-year-old child. My grandson, who was very important to me.”
Altomore was shot in the upper abdomen in the area of South 14th Street at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. He succumbed to his injuries the following day.
According to Monessen Police Chief David Yuhasz, there are currently no suspects in the killing.
Altomore was a junior at Monessen High School, where he was also a lineman on the football team.
For those at the vigil, not knowing the circumstances of his death is difficult.
“I’m pretty sure they deeply regret it, but I hope that person realizes how they impacted the community,” said Rayna Winston, who works at Mr. Joe’s Corner Store in Monessen, where she said Altomore was a frequent customer. She described him as a family friend.
“Amari, I looked at him as a little brother … He was always in the corner store, always respectful. He was very respectful. He was always a ray of sunshine. He came into the corner store on days I was so unhappy, he would still make conversation with me and make my day 10 times better,” Winston said.
Holiday also described Altomore as kind, respectful and willing to help anyone.
“That’s the way his mother and father raised him, that you be kind to people. You love people,” Holiday said.
Zalendria Hardison has since graduated from Monessen High School, but had a few classes with Altomore and also knew him through athletics.
“He helped me with stuff that I couldn’t have dealt with,” Hardison said.
For Hardison, she will remember Altomore’s sense of humor.
“Anyone who came in the room, he would do something silly or weird to make someone’s day. That’s what people should remember him by,” Hardison said.
Holiday echoed that sentiment.
“I just hope that nobody ever forgets what he did, how he made them laugh, how intelligent he was and how he would always lend a helping hand,” Holiday said.
A GoFundMe page, ”Funeral Expenses for Amari,” has so far raised more $6,854 for Altomore’s family. Matthew Strine, a teacher at Monessen High School, organized the fundraiser.
“Please support this effort to have finances not be something the family needs to think about at this completely unimaginable time. The staff at Monessen City School District thank you directly for your support, and we thank you on behalf of the loved ones left behind,” reads the description on the GoFundMe page.