An 18-year-old boy of Liberian decent is pronounced dead after a shooting incident in Ramsey, Minnesota on Sunday morning.
The Anoka County Sheriff’s Office released a statement saying the Ramsey Police Department responded to a report of a person slumped over in a car around 8:30 a.m. to the 14600 block of Snowy Owl St. NW.
Upon arrival, officers found Diamond Eddie Manly, of Brooklyn Park, dead of an apparent gunshot wound. The Anoka County Sheriff’s Office said the shooting was a homicide, though no suspects have been arrested as of Monday.
Manly’s family and friends gathered at his parents’ home Monday evening to remember him.
“It’s just hard to believe he’s actually gone,” Michael Tue, a junior at Champlin Park High School and friend of Manly, said. “For somebody to do that to him, it’s just not right.”
“Not only making an impact on one person, but the whole entire school,” Emmanuella Gatera, a senior at CPHS, said. “Everybody knows who Diamond is.”
Manly was a senior at Champlin Park High School. Principal Michael George shared a statement with parents, students and staff on Sunday.
“We care about all of our students at Champlin Park High School and will have resources in place to provide support for them when school resumes on Monday,” the statement read. “The death of a classmate may be difficult for some students, even if they didn’t really know the student.”
Manly’s parents describe their son as loving, caring and kind. They say he played soccer, and loved working with people younger than him.
“He’s supposed to be graduating in June,” Leona Yogei Manly, Diamond’s mother, said. “Celebrating my son, I had so much plans.”
“To the person who killed my son, I need justice,” Eric Manly, Diamonds’ father, said. “I need justice.”
“It’s not a day I ever want to remember in my life,” Eric continued.
If you have any information about this shooting, officials request that you call the Anoka County non-emergency dispatch number 763-427-1212.
“A death of an 18-year-old is really difficult,” Tierney Peters, Community Relations Coordinator for the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office, said. “There is the passion to get answers for the family, and to bring anyone to justice who was responsible for this. The grief is something no one wants to face, and no one wants others to face.”
Champlin Park High School shared that parents and students can text HOME to 741741 to be connected with 24/7 mental health resources.
