‘He was bigger than life;’ Auburn family remembers teen murdered an hour before 18th birthday

AUBURN, Wash. — Auburn Police are searching for the suspect who murdered a 17-year-old near his home one week ago.

Noah Bagby, 17, was shot and killed on July 3rd just after 11 p.m. on K Street Northeast.

Mizanna Journee, the victim’s sister, told KIRO 7 he was murdered less than an hour before his 18th birthday.

“They definitely made sure that they shot him so that he wasn’t able to make it which was very traumatizing. Like seeing my brother drop to the ground and the gunshots,” Journee explained.

Journee said it happened right in front of her after she and Noah watched fireworks in the neighborhood.

She says someone came up and argued with him, then fired several shots. Noah died at the scene.

“I know my brother took his last breaths in my mom’s arms which is something no mom should ever have to go through,” Journee said.

She couldn’t believe what had happened and called 911. Unfortunately, it was too late.

“I’m going to miss being able to Facetime him before and after work, that was taken from me. I won’t have him as a fishing partner anymore. Just there’s a lot that we didn’t get to do that I really regret like not having that time to spend that.”

Journee described Noah as her little brother and best friend.

“He definitely was like my twin flame,” she added. “You can see his smile in all these pictures and he loves smiling. He really loved life, he was bigger than life.”

KIRO 7′s Samantha Lomibao spoke with Noah’s family at Fivemile Lake in Auburn on Wednesday.

Journee says Noah spent a lot of time fishing. He was at the lake and caught some trout, just two days before he died.

“He was like, do you want me to keep some for you? And I told him like yea, for sure. So I still have those fillets in the freezer that I’ve yet to cook. But I made sure they didn’t go bad, I’m not gonna let his hard work go to waste,” she explained.

It’s that kind of care and compassion that Journee says she’ll miss the most about her brother.

“He was there for you if you needed support. And if no one else was supporting you like, he would be that guy that would cheer you on. Which he did that for me a lot,” she said.

If you’d like to help Noah’s family with funeral expenses, click here.

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