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WEST VALLEY CITY — For his family, Marquez Grajeda was "the strong one." For his friends, he was the one who always had their back.
As loved ones of the 15-year-old fatally shot Tuesday gathered in the snow in front of his West Valley home on Wednesday, they remembered the outgoing teen who loved soccer and quickly made friends.
According to Agustina Lopez, Marquez's sister, whenever the family went through a difficulty, "He'd always tell us, 'It's OK, we'll get through it.' He'd always let my mom know, 'We'll get through it.'"
"Yesterday, we were all crying at my mom's house, and I just wished he would walk into the door," Lopez said.
West Valley police continued to collect evidence Wednesday in the fatal shooting of the teen, allegedly at the hands of a 14-year-old.
Marquez was in the bedroom of a house, 1347 W. 2320 South, about 12:45 p.m Tuesday, when he was shot in the head at close range, said West Valley police spokeswoman Roxeanne Vainuku. A 14-year-old boy, whose name has not been released, was arrested for investigation of criminal homicide. Neither Marquez nor the shooter lived in the house.
The 14-year-old told police the shooting was not intentional, Vainuku said.
Lopez says Marquez's family so far knows very little about what happened.
"It's very hard. We want answers. We want to know what happened, how it happened, who did it, you know? Because we're suffering, but that family's suffering too, you know," she said.
Although she doesn't know if the shooting was accidental, Lopez said she knows that the family of the shooter must be "going through a loss too."
"I'm thinking about his family, too, and I'm keeping them in our prayers," Lopez said.
As family members and friends circled in front of a memorial in front of the home that included candles and photos of Marquez, several of his friends wept as they recalled the ways he impacted them.
"He was family to all of us, and then for him to leave this young, he was getting his life back together, he was getting a job, he didn't even get to celebrate his first paycheck. For them just to take his life like that?" Abel Torres, 12, said.
"He would tell us so many things, so many things that were so true. Like if we ever had someone older than us trying to mess with us, he'd always be there. He'd be the first one there," Abel remembered.
"He'll give us good advice, tell us to stay in school," Oscar Contreres, 12, explained.
Jaime Obispo, 14, said "he was like a brother to me."
"He was chill, he was calm, we'd all kick it and stuff, and we'd play basketball," Jaime said.
The boys agreed that they will cherish the memories they shared with him.
Lopez said that Marquez loved playing soccer and boxing in his front yard with other kids in the neighborhood.
"He would play hide and seek a lot and cops and robbers with his little cousins. …He was a little rough with them, but they loved playing with Marquez," Lopez recalled.
Leila Littleman, a close friend of the family, called Marquez "a great kid."
"When we'd come around and have barbecues and family gatherings, he always was playing games. Always had a soccer ball at the time. We spent some time with him recently, he was about his friends and everything," she said.
Littleman said the loss comes at a time when the family is also dealing with the loss of a grandmother and an uncle.
"No one's prepared for this, especially when it comes to your own child. Guns are not to be played with. It is just a sad story for this family and for the family of the shooter," Littleman said.
He was family to all of us, and then for him to leave this young, he was getting his life back together, he was getting a job, he didn't even get to celebrate his first paycheck.
–Abel Torres
A charge of criminal homicide can be filed if the shooting was intentional or an act of negligence. Vainuku said detectives were gathering evidence to present to the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office, which will decide what formal charges, if any, to file.
Both boys were in the house with other juveniles and adults at the time. They were there during their lunch break from school, she said, though police have declined to say which school.
Detectives served a search warrant on the home after the incident and seized two guns, Vainuku said. It was not immediately known if either is the weapon used to shoot Marquez. Where the gun that killed him came from was still under investigation Wednesday.
Police have also not said what the 14-year-old was doing with the gun at the time of the shooting or why it went off.
Lopez said seeing people show up in the snow to support the family meant a lot to them. "It shows you how much he was cared for by his friends, family. He was loved. He's gonna be very missed."
