Family & Friends Gather To Mourn Loss Of Philadelphia Teen Gunned Down On Memorial Day
By Elizabeth Hur
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Family and friends want justice for a teenager who was murdered on Memorial Day.
He was a high school senior. His prom is this weekend. His graduation was near, but not now.
The 17-year-old's family is, instead, planning his funeral for this Saturday.
In the meantime, they gathered for a vigil, and just as the vigil was about to get underway, the rain moved in. Yet family and friends of 17-year-old Savon Traub could not imagine being anywhere else. His mother was grateful but not surprised.
"He was a loved child. He was a loved person. Everybody loved him, he was well-known. As you can see, look at all the people out here in the rain," Taalen Traub said.
According to police, the shooting occurred on the 6400 block of Glenmore Avenue. It was just after 11 p.m. on Monday night. Police say Traub was shot once in the head. He was rushed to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania where he was pronounced dead.
"These guys, they need to learn how to deal with situations other than resorting to violence. I don't believe that whatever he did was worth him getting shot and killed the way that he did," Traub's aunt, Yolanda Page said.
The 17-year-old was one of two people killed late Monday night. Police say that in a span of less than an hour, officers responded to three separate shootings. No arrests have been made so far, and that's frustrating for those grieving the loss of their loved one. They believe someone knows why this happened, and they want answers.
"If somebody knows something, they need to hurry up and do something before there are more murders out here," Family friend Tamika Porter said.
Tashia Drayton, Traub's cousin, added, "This boy is not going to see his birthday, his prom, his graduation. Come on, you know something, tell anybody."
We're told Savon was a great student at Bartram High School who was headed for college this fall to study social work. Now, he will be laid to rest this Saturday.
As for the investigation, sources say this shooting could have been sparked by an argument over a prom date. But police stress that suggestion is just one of many possible motives.
