Friends, family gather to mourn 21-year-old slain in Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Friends and family members of 21-year-old Logan Etterle, who was killed Sunday morning, gathered to mourn Tuesday evening.

They held a balloon release and a vigil at the spot where he was gunned down, right in the middle of downtown Augusta.

Keyon Smiley, 31, was arrested in the shooting of Etterle, and there’s also an arrest warrant out for another suspect, D’Andre Tandy, who is not yet in custody.

Etterle’s slaying was one of three in three days in Augusta, which is coping with an outbreak of shootings in recent weeks.

MORE COVERAGE:

• 1 arrested, another faces charges as details emerge in slaying of 21-year-old
• What are local deputies doing to prevent violent crimes?

We spoke to his friends about how Etterle will be remembered.

“We all love him a lot, and this just shows it,” said James Millar, friend.

Balloons fill the sky, and flowers line the pavement as tributes pour in for Etterle.

“He’s the only person that checks up on me, and it’s really hard,” he said.

Another friend, Jaden Smith, said: “He was like a brother to me, known him since middle school.”

His friends remember him as full of energy, an athlete, but more than that, a great friend.

“He had an impact on everyone’s lives out here, even the ones that couldn’t make it. I know they feel that pain right now,” said Smith

Quest Caines said: “Logan was just the purest form of a genuine person, genuinely cared for you, and he would do anything he could for you.”

Millar said: “He genuinely cared for his friends, and there’s no one else you’d rather have backing you.”

This friendship is one everyone around him felt.

As they come together to mourn their friend and honor his life, they plead for an end to violence.

Caines said: “I hope people realize that it’s not the answer, and it never will be, and no matter what a situation looks like, that split second could ruin more lives than you can account for.”

They say his legacy will live on as long as they live.

Millar said: “It’s not right, it should’ve never happened, and it needs to stop.”

Etterle had also been injured in an October 2020 shooting after coming to the defense of a teenager he felt was being mistreated by her boyfriend. Friends at the time said it was very much like him to come to the defense of people he loves.

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