HOUSTON – Jarvon Coles spent a lot of time at the North Short High School football field, but instead of gathering to watch him play, his loved ones and community members gathered Wednesday afternoon for a balloon release to honor his life.
The 18-year-old standout football player and student was in his senior year and headed to Lamar University, according to his family.
But Coles was murdered at a house party in Humble over the weekend, when Harris County Sheriff’s deputies say someone opened fire from a block or two away, firing shots into the backyard where Coles and others were gathered.
“Every time I think about what’s going on, I just break down,” his father Jarvis Payne said. “It just hurts.”
Hundreds of people, including classmates, coaches, and family members, participated in the balloon release. His family released 10 balloons first, which was a tribute to the linebacker who wore the #10 jersey. His family told KPRC 2 he had a 4.1 GPA.
“He was the type of person that everybody should strive to be like,” family friend Domenique Mitchell said.
He planned to continue playing football in college and had dreams of playing in the NFL.
“It’s heartbreaking. He had so much ahead of him,” his great aunt Valerie Payne said. “He texted me a couple of days before and he was student of the month. I said, ‘I’m so very proud of you’ ... and then we had the tragedy,” she said.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office says the party was held at a short-term rental property with more than 100 people in attendance.
“One person hit multiple times out of so many people at a party, and it just don’t sit right,” Jarvis Payne said.
Partygoers did CPR and an ambulance rushed Coles to the hospital but he didn’t survive.
“Gun violence is just what I just hate to see, especially in our young, our students, our young adults,” Valerie Payne said.
So far, no arrests have been made, and Coles’ family is urging anyone with information to come forward.
“Come forward because justice will be served,” said Coles’ great uncle Darren Payne.
“I just want justice for my son because this is really hurting, my firstborn, and it hurts me a lot,” Jarvis Payne said.
His family will be laying him to rest on Saturday, March 16.