EUGENE, Ore. — Alex Gradin, a 2016 Tigard High School graduate, who was shot and killed in a Eugene parking lot on Saturday, was remembered by friends and family as a kind and funny person who was loved by all.
"Everybody got along with him," said Conner Crist, who played football with Gradin at Tigard High School. Crist said the two shared the same birthday and many fond memories.
"He was so funny. He would always light up the room, whether it was with his laugh, which was one of a kind, or with his smile," Crist said.
"We appreciate the outpouring of love and concern we have received in the tragic death of our son, Alex," his family said in a statement. "He was an unexpected blessing to our lives when he joined us as a baby in Kenya and grew to be a compassionate, thoughtful young man.
"He naturally made many friends all over the world, who are grieving right now. We request at this time that you allow us to heal and support each other as a family."
Gradin was a student at Lane Community College.
University of Oregon police and the Eugene Police Department responded to a report of shots fired at 13th and Kincaid, in the parking lot behind Taylor’s Bar and Grill, 894 E. 13th Avenue, just before 2 a.m. on Saturday morning. In the parking lot, they found Gradin, who had been shot.
Spencer Wilson, a student at Lane Community College, lives at the Alpha Omega fraternity house. He said the gunshots happened right outside the house. He ran outside to the parking lot between his home and Taylor's Bar and Grill, where he saw Gradin, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the chest.
"That's when I said, 'OK, I gotta start praying," Wilson said.
Officers tried to save Gradin, but he died at the scene. Witnesses told police the shooter sped away in a black car. Investigators are trying to identify a suspect.
Wilson said he didn't know Gradin, but he'll never forget the young man who lost his life in front of him.
"I'm still in shock over seeing someone get shot like that and watching someone die," Wilson said.
Police are asking for any rideshare vehicles or taxis who may have in-vehicle video or tips about the case to call 541-682-5111.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.