CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland State University adjunct professor killed in the crossfire of weekend shootout was a passionate artist who taught at three colleges, his nephew said.

David Wilder, 61, died Saturday after he was shot on East 89th Street at Woodland Avenue. Wilder was caught in a "running vehicular gun battle" -- one of several shootings this weekend in Cleveland, police said Monday at a press conference.

Three men have been arrested and charged in his death.

Wilder was a part-time art history teacher at CSU, Cuyahoga Community College and John Carroll University. He also produced contemporary art, which he displayed on his personal website, his nephew Nathan Wilder said in a phone interview with cleveland.com.

"He was an avid artist," Nathan Wilder said. "He was also working on another master's degree."

David Wilder grew up in Painesville and spent most of his life in Northeast Ohio. He earned a bachelor's degree in sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design, and earned master's degrees from the University of Cincinnati and Kent State University.

He began his teaching career in 1993. Over the years he earned many positive reviews from his students, his nephew said.

"He was very kind and humble and had a nice sense of humor and wit about him," Nathan Wilder said. "He was a very caring individual who really cared about other people."

David Wilder was one of two people profiled by cleveland.com in 2015 for a story that illustrated how part-time professors make ends meet. He was a passionate advocate for unions, and was a founding member of the Ohio Part-Time Faculty Association, which was formed in 2013 to help adjunct faculty organize to transform their working conditions.

"We, his friends and colleagues, are devastated by his loss and resolute in our determination to continue our work in his honor, as we know he would want us to do," the organization said Monday in a memorial posted on its website. "We share the grief of his family and friends in this immeasurable loss."

Since David Wilder did not hold a full-time teaching position, he did not earn benefits to cover the cost of his funeral, his nephew said.

"He was very well-educated and very well-respected in his field, but he never really had a full-time gig," Nathan Wilder said. "He did everything he could to make ends meet. He worked really hard."

David Wilder never married or had children, and had few relatives in the area. Nathan Wilder -- who is 42 years old and lives in Baltimore with his family -- is planning his uncle's funeral.

The family started a GoFundMe page to raise money for funeral expenses. The page raised nearly $5,000 toward its $7,500 goal by 4 p.m. Monday.

If the page raises more than $7,500 or if there is any money left over, Nathan Wilder is considering starting a scholarship fund in his uncle's name.

"People have been very generous," Nathan Wilder said. "It's nice to know that when tragedy happens, people are goodhearted and come out to support others."

Three Cleveland men, Charles Walker, Terrell Gray and Kassius Williams, are charged with aggravated murder in connection with Wilder's death, court records show.

Tywan Cortez Johnson, 15, was also killed and two others were wounded in the shooting.

The three suspects rode in a Volkswagen while Johnson and two others rode in a Saturn Vue. The two cars were westbound on Woodland Avenue when the groups started firing shots at one another, police said.

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