An 11-year-old boy well-known to community leaders is dead following a late night shooting in Troy.
According to Troy Police, officers were called to the scene of a shooting at 226 Old 6th Avenue around 11:40 p.m. Sunday.
When officers arrived, they found 11-year-old Ayshawn Davis with a gunshot wound to the head. Fire department personnel began treating the victim and transported him to the hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
Police determined that the victim was standing in the area of the shooting with a group when a car sped by with gunfire coming from the window. The vehicle then fled the area.
Davis, a sixth-grade student of the Lansingburgh School District, gained attention last year, as a 10-year-old, for convincing a local pizzeria owner to let him work around the restaurant — as long as his education stayed a priority.
"You can accomplish anything if you put your mind to it," Davis said at the time, and added he wanted to earn money for his future, and to help the homeless someday.
Statements made by Troy Police and Ayshawn's school district put on display the impact he had on his community.
"Ayshawn was a wonderful and happy young man that was a hard worker and had a great concern for those less fortunate," read a statement from police.
The school district has been notified and will be working to provide counseling and direction to students and parents in the district.
"To say that this death is tragic is an understatement," said Troy Police Department Deputy Chief Daniel DeWolf. "We are all heartbroken that this young man’s life was taken so young and so senselessly and so violently. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family and friends."
Tom Buchanan, the owner of Jimmy's Pizzeria, believes Ayshawn's future was limitless.
"He could have done anything he wanted. He had that energy," Buchanan said.
Buchanan is thinking of putting a photo of Ayshawn inside the pizzeria, as a reminder of his potential.
Ayshawn isn't the only young person to die on Old Sixth Avenue. In 2015, 18-year-old Tyreek Prince was fatally shot. Just months later, Ahziarh Carter, 19, was killed in an incident that also wounded a 14-year-old.
Memorials for both Prince and Carter are still visible on Old Sixth Avenue. Besides the candles and mementos, someone has spray painted the street's stop sign to now read, "Stop Killing."
There have been no arrests connected to Ayshawn's death. Anyone with information should contact the Troy Police Department at 518-270-4427 or online at troypd.org.
Davis' family has started a GoFundMe to help pay his funeral expenses.