SEATTLE, Wash. — Who killed Amarr Murphy-Paine? It’s the question weighing on the minds of his family, more than seven months after the teen was shot to death.
It happened in June outside Garfield High School.
Seattle police say that some sort of fight broke out and that Murphy-Paine stepped in to try to calm things down, but one of the teens pulled out a gun and shot him several times in the chest.
“Our neighbor across the way was the first person there doing CPR,” someone who lives in the area told KIRO 7 after the shooting happened. “The neighbor next to him across the street came and took over the CPR. It was fantastic what they did before first responders even got here,” said another neighbor. “Then when the first responders got here, they worked with this young man for a long, long time.”
One neighbor says as they were helping Murphy-Paine, the suspect vehicle circled back and sped through the intersection just a couple of minutes before police arrived.
Murphy-Paine was taken to Harborview and went into surgery in serious condition but did not survive.
His father tells KIRO 7 that his son’s kindness is inspiring him to not only find answers to who did this-- but to also forgive the suspect.
“I’ve been praying for you every single day since it happened. I have found a great level of forgiveness in my heart and compassion in my heart for you. I pray same the faith that strengthened strengthens you to do the right thing,” Arron Murphy-Paine said.
KIRO 7′s Louie Tran spoke to Murphy-Paine’s family Wednesday about the investigation. You can hear their story tonight at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.