Grief, shock in Crenshaw High community after student- athlete was shot and killed outside a party

Quincy Reese Jr. shined on and off the court.

The 16-year-old, who went by "Q," was a standout basketball player and an honor student who made his father beam with pride.

“That was my first born. Sixteen years I had him. It was wonderful,” said Quincy Reese Sr., the teen’s father, while holding back tears. “He was one person I looked forward to coming home to every night.”

But the teenager’s life was cut too short Saturday night when he was shot outside a party in the Manchester Square neighborhood.

Officers responding to a shots-fired call at about 11:50 p.m. Saturday in the area of 74th Street and Western Avenue located the boy suffering from at least one gunshot wound, according to the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Division.

The teen died at the scene.

Investigators said they believe there was a dispute at a party, and when Q ran outside, he was gunned down. The teenager was celebrating the end of the school year with his friends and classmates.

“I’m feeling like my world has flipped upside down,” Reese described. “I’m feeling like I lost one of my best friends.”

Q was also a good friend with his larger-and-life personality, according to his classmates and teammates. His friends and family even gave him the nickname “Batman” because they thought he was like a superhero.

“He was a good basketball player and a fun guy,” described Jayce Jones, one of Q’s friends and teammates. “He wasn’t a gang banger. He didn’t do violence. He didn’t deserve that.”

His death is even more heartbreaking as the teen had so much to look forward to. Q’s high school basketball coach says 58 colleges were looking at the teen as a potential recruit. Next year, Q was supposed to lead Crenshaw High’s basketball team as the team captain. Now the school is planning to honor him in the upcoming season.

“He was outgoing, silly but he knew when to be serious and attracted a lot of people with his personality,” recalled Ed Waters, Crenshaw High School’s basketball coach. “But life is about adjustments, and after they go through this process, we will turn this around as strength. We’ll play for him next year.”

The Crenshaw High School community held a vigil Sunday evening as his classmates lit candles, shared their memories of Q and left behind loving notes for the slain teen.

The LAPD is still searching for the suspect or suspects as investigators review surveillance video footage in the area where Q was shot.