Friends are grieving the death of 12-year-old Hezekiah Bernard who was found dead in a trash container on August 23. Police in Philadelphia say Bernard was shot in the head and are still trying to figure out what happened and who was involved.
Pastor Aaron Campbell is the founder and executive director of Level Up Philly where Bernard spent a lot of his time.
"He had eyes that were full of just wonder, beauty, and you could just see that he just wanted to find his place in the world," he told NBC10.
Pastor Campbell hosts church services and youth programs for hundreds of kids every week at Level Up and he is sadly too familiar with helping them navigate gun violence.
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Campbell told NBC10 that in the last year and a half, twenty of the kids he mentored have been shot. Five of them were killed and are immortalized on a wall at Level Up.
Bernard is the latest to be honored on the wall and was remembered on Thursday with a balloon release.
It's an ongoing and dangerous cycle but it's not without hope.
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"The solution is found in grassroots mentoring with partnerships. We make it cool to show your vulnerable side and we're seeing so much beauty. The masks come down and the stone faces turn into smiles," Pastor Campbell said.
This investigation remains active and ongoing.
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