Community Remembers 19-Year-Old Design Student Lost To Gun Violence

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Police are searching for suspects after a 19-year-old Baltimore art student was shot and killed just weeks before graduation.

Police say this murder stands out because Victorious Swift has no criminal record, and his murder appears to be random. Not much comfort to friends mourning the loss of a teenager with a bright future.

Social, artistic, the light in the room. Friends describe Victorious Swift as an involved community member with a passion for design.

"He was very unique and individualistic in himself," said Twan Jordan.

The 19-year-old was fatally shot at 3 a.m. Sunday near the corner of Reisterstown Road and Tioga Parkway.

Police say the motive was likely a random robbery.

There are no street lights on the block where Swift was murdered. No cameras, either. That's why police say they're counting on someone to come foward with information.

"We know this suspect, he's talked. He spoke to somebody," said Donnie Moses, with Baltimore PD, "Prayerfully, he spoke to somebody with a conscience."

At the Baltimore Algebra Project, where Victorious volunteered, friends prepped for a private vigil.

Mentor and friend Twan Jordan says he's still in shock.

"He had so much potential," said Jordan. "And he was on the cusp of realizing that potential. And you could see a real bright future."

Victorious, a rapper and singer, was weeks from graduation at the Baltimore Design School.

"I'm going to be giving the first graduation speech. And not seeing him there with the graduates is going to be very painful. So my heart goes out to his family, to all of his friends," said Mayor Catherine Pugh.

A budding Baltimore success story -- cut short by violence.

A GoFundMe account for Victorious' family has raised about $9,000 in just three days.

His funeral will be held Tuesday evening on Fulton Avenue.

If you saw or heard anything that could help find Victorious' killer, you're asked to call police.

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