A Waxahachie family is trying to make sense of the shooting death of a teenage family member.
The family told NBC 5 15-year-old Spencer Nobles was shot and and killed Thursday night. He's described as a young man who was happy and always smiling.
"Funny,” his grandmother Tracy Donalson said. “He's a debater. He knew everything about everything. "
But that smart young man’s life was cut short around 10 p.m. Thursday at a home in the 800 block of East Main Street.
Police responded to a shots fired call and found him inside a house with a gunshot wound. Emergency medical personnel responded and he was transported to Baylor Scott and White Hospital in Waxahachie where they pronounced him deceased.
For people in the area this shooting was surprising.
"This is not a crime infested community,” business owner Jesse Gibson said. “What happened last night was an isolated incident."
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Sadly, for Nobles' family, it's a reminder violence can happen anywhere.
"We talk to them,” Donalson said. “We preach to them. But, ultimately they'll make their own decisions and they'll go out and into the world and make their own choices. Sometimes the choices they make have results and consequences."
Police are not saying who may have pulled the trigger and they have not revealed any possible motive for the shooting.
Nobles was a student at Coleman Junior High School. Counselors were made available to students and staff to help them deal with the loss of someone his older brother describes as unique.
"My little brother was you know adventurous,” his 16-year-old older brother Bryson Nobles said. “He was 15 and he's catching squirrels and stuff. Little kids don't do that. He just liked having fun. Ride skate boards. Most kids want to ride a bike. He rides skate boards."
While the family waits for more answers this grieving grandmother sends this plea out to other parents.
"Love your kids,” Donalson said. “Let them know cause you never know they could be gone just like that."
A candlelight vigil has been scheduled for Wednesday night, Jan. 29, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Penn Park. Organizers ask those attending the vigil to wear Spencer's favorite color red. Some candles will be available, but attendees are encouraged to bring their own.
