lit a candle 1d agoI don't know this family or this town, I just read the story out of Ohio and it stopped me. The paper called him a beloved son, taken far too soon, and I haven't been able to shake that line since. Sixteen. Right across from his own school. Praying for his mother tonight.
Their story
Joshua Lewis Jr was a sixteen-year-old junior at Raytown High School in Raytown, Missouri, remembered by his family and school community as a student athlete with a bright future and a joyful spirit. He played football for the Raytown Blue Jays, wearing number 36, and those who loved him knew…
Joshua Lewis Jr was a sixteen-year-old junior at Raytown High School in Raytown, Missouri, remembered by his family and school community as a student athlete with a bright future and a joyful spirit. He played football for the Raytown Blue Jays, wearing number 36, and those who loved him knew a young man who found joy in football, fashion, and playing Xbox - and a jokester who made the people around him smile.
His parents described a son who had so much life ahead of him, loved deeply by his family and by everyone who knew him. In words shared as the community gathered to support them, they wrote simply: “Forever 16. Forever loved. Forever our son.” Relatives spoke of a teenager who had been part of their lives since the day he came home from the hospital, and of how hard it was to put that love into words.
On Wednesday, 16 September 2026, shortly after school dismissal, Joshua was shot in the parking lot of a convenience store on Blue Ridge Boulevard, across from Raytown High School - not on school grounds. Officers responded around 1:30 p.m. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was 16.
That evening, the Raytown C-2 School District wrote to families that Joshua “was a student athlete and beloved part of our Blue Jays family,” offering sympathy and support to students and staff who were grieving. Raytown Police later said two people had been taken into custody. A juvenile was subsequently charged in connection with his death; further details remain limited because of the defendant’s age. This memorial keeps the focus on Joshua’s life and the people who loved him.
In the days that followed, classmates, neighbors, and teammates filled a growing memorial near the scene with flowers, notes, a teddy bear, snacks, and a football. Hundreds gathered at Raytown Christian Church for a prayer vigil that brought together students, pastors, city leaders, and first responders. Teammates held balloons marked with his jersey number, 36. Head football coach Anthony Morgan remembered Joshua as a vibrant young man and said the team would dedicate its game and the remainder of the season to his memory, urging the community to be “Raytown strong” for his family.
Joshua Lewis Jr is remembered first as a son, a nephew, a classmate, and a Blue Jay - a teenager whose ordinary joys and friendships mattered, whose life was cut short, and whose memory his family, teammates, and school community continue to hold with love.
Biography adapted from KMBC, KSHB 41, and KCTV5 reporting, September 2026; Raytown C-2 School District letter to families; family tribute via GoFundMe (Charmaine Allen); Raytown Police and Jackson County Juvenile Office sta.
In their own words
“Joshua was a student athlete and beloved part of our Blue Jays family.”
Raytown C-2 School District letter to families, 16 September 2026
“Forever 16. Forever loved. Forever our son.”
Family tribute shared on the GoFundMe organized by Charmaine Allen
“To lose his life is just so traumatizing and sad for myself, for my team, for the kids at the high school, for the community... be Raytown strong and be strong for his family.”
Raytown head football coach Anthony Morgan, quoted by KSHB 41
“He loved football, fashion, and playing Xbox. These were some of the things that brought him joy and allowed him to be himself.”
Family tribute on GoFundMe
Photos
3Joshua Lewis Jr in his Raytown Blue Jays football jersey, number 36
by People Forever
Joshua Lewis Jr with a football trophy at a school celebration
by People Forever
Joshua Lewis Jr, family portrait
by People Forever
Same, read it this morning and just sat there for a minute.