More than two hundred people filled the block around 13th and Downing Street NE where 16-year-old Zaire Kelly was killed in what police describe as an attempted robbery.
Monday night's vigil followed a rally at Thurgood Marshall Academy in Southeast, D.C. where Kelly was a star student and athlete.
The high school senior was just steps from his home when police say he tried to defend himself from an attempted robbery.
Police say Kelly stabbed 19-year-old Sequan Gillis in the abdomen when he tried to steal the teen's cellphone at gunpoint.
Police say Gillis retaliated by shooting Kelly in the head. Kelly was pronounced at the scene. Gillis who was found a short distance away died at the hospital.
Both young men lived within a half mile apart in Northeast, D.C. but did not know each other.
Kelly was a member of the Marion Barry Youth Leadership Institute.
