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'He was always happy. He was always joyous, and we'll all love him forever'

Ronald Green, 17, was killed Sunday at his home on Thornton Drive in Chalmette. The St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office reported his death as an accidental shooting.

NEW ORLEANS — A Monday night vigil in Chalmette drew in family, friends and teachers of a teenager who they said was always the life of the party. None of them expected his life to end so suddenly. 

Ronald Green, 17, was killed Sunday at his home on Thornton Drive in Chalmette. The St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office reported his death as an accidental shooting. 

Green’s sister, Trinicia McGee, said he was playing around with a gun when it went off.

"This was just an outrageous tragedy,” said McGee. “It really was.”

As candles were lit and balloons released, family and friends shared stories about the teen with an infectious personality.

"I thought we were going to grow up together and be rich one day," said Green’s cousin, Desmond Carriere.

"He was like my best friend. We've been together since middle school,” said friend Cortez Martin. “I never expected nothing like this to happen."

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Green was known for his dance moves, but if they weren’t enough to light up the room, Green's smile surely was, loved ones said.

"You can see his serious face, but as soon as the picture was taken, he started to laugh after that,” said McGee. “He was always laughing, always smiling.”

McGee said she’ll never forget that smile or those dance moves, even though her younger brother is gone.

“He was always happy. He was always joyous, and we'll all love him forever,” said McGee.

A senior at Chalmette High School, family members said Green had plans to be a nurse. Folks at Monday’s vigil said Green was a bright light wherever he was.

“He was always the person to lift everybody's spirits up, and now, he's gone — and it's just hard," said Green’s cousin Ja’nya Carriere.

"I just don't have the words, and I just can't seem to pull it together," said Green’s aunt Shernette Snow.

While McGee said the loss of her brother was tragic, there's a lesson to be learned.

"Don't play with the guns. Don't hold the guns. If you're not using the gun for self-defense to protect your home, please don't touch the guns," said McGee.

To keep Green's memory lives, family and friends said they'll keep dancing because they know Green still is as well.

Family members said Green did not own the gun that killed him. The sheriff's office has not confirmed who it may belong to and is still investigating the case. 

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