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Family, Friends Gather On Somber 5th Anniversary Of Loved One's Murder

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — As they do every March 2nd, friends and family of slain high school football standout Jamiel Shaw II gather to honor his memory.

Shaw, then only 17, was shot and killed by a gang member in front of his Arlington Heights home in March 2008.

His father recalls hearing the gun shots and racing to his son's side. "It's the worst feeling that you can ever imagine if you are a mom or a dad ... to hear the gunshots, find your kid, laying in the street...dead," says Jamiel Shaw Sr.

A plaque and large tree now stands where Shaw was cut down. A sign: "We Celebrate The Life Of Jamiel Andre Shawn."

CBS2/KCAL9 reporter Brittney Hopper attended the somber and emotional vigil.

"It's devastating sometimes people think  'you should get over it ... it's been long enough,'" said Althea Shaw, the victim's aunt. Tears streaming down her cheeks she said, "But you know, it's hard."

At the time of his murder, Shaw was a junior at Los Angeles High School and was being recruited by many of the best colleges in the country. He not only dazzled on the field, he was a standout in the classroom as well.

Family member said he was a good kid with big dreams of being a pro athlete.

His mother was unable to attend this memorial -- she's a sergeant in the military and currently stationed in Texas.

Sheilah Kimble attended tonight's service. She doesn't know the Shaw family -- but she does know the pain they are going through. Kimble's son was murdered two years ago. "I'm shocked that I am here. I didn't attend my own son's visual, when San Bernardino City gave him a visual. Because my son's murderers are still out there."

Shaw's father says he wants his son to be remembered "as a kid ... a kid that deserved everything their kid deserved."

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