Classmates and friends of two teens shot and killed at a club in Fort Myers remembered the boys Monday.
Eighteen-year-old Stef’an Strawder was a student at Lehigh Senior High School.
Those who knew him are grieving. He was less than a month from starting his senior year when was killed at the Swimsuit Glow Party in downtown Fort Myers.
Basketball was his passion and joy. Friends say Stef’an was a rising star on the courts.
“He was an amazing kid,” said Bernard Edwards, a friend of Stef’an’s. “The LeBron James of this program. He was the Steph Curry of this program.”
They say he was a leader in the classroom too.
“He was a good boy,” said Principal Jackie Corey. “He did the right thing. He was a leader among his peers at his school.”
Stef’an’s basketball coach got some of his teammates together Monday to remember him: a teenager known for always cracking jokes and pushing his team to work hard.
“Quite frankly it's like losing a son, very difficult,” said Coach Dawn McNew. “Which is one of the reasons we wanted to get the kids together.”
BJ Edwards played on the same team as Stef’an. Talking about losing him is difficult.
“This is probably the toughest thing I've had to deal with because I've never lost anybody so close to me,” said BJ.
Also killed in the nightclub shooting, Sean Achilles, just 14-years-old. He was going to be an eighth-grader at the Royal Palm School this fall. In a statement the principal said the following:
“The staff and students at Royal Palm School were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Sean Archilles. Sean was the kind of young man who could brighten any room with his outgoing personality and contagious smile. He was a friend to all and will be deeply missed by his Royal Palm family.”
Grief counselors were on hand at both Royal Palm and at Lehigh Senior High School to help students and staff cope.