Karl Etters

Democrat staff writer

Neighbors and friends of a 16-year-old killed Friday say his shooting was an “unfortunate accident” -- one that stemmed from a group of teens playing with a gun.

Travon Rollins, an upcoming junior at Rickards High School and football player, was killed when he was shot around 5:35 p.m. Friday evening near his Tess Circle home. Rollins later died at the hospital.

Tallahassee Police are investigating the shooting as a homicide and continue to interview witnesses and process evidence.

Ke’Ambrielle Sanders went to school with Rollins.

Saturday, she was still shocked by her friend's death. As she stood a few doors down from where Rollins – who she called Nugget – was shot, the 17-year-old remembered him as a fun-loving, gregarious teen.

“He kept everybody smiling,” Sanders said. “When someone was down, he would come by you and he would try to cheer you up. Any way he can he would try to cheer you up."

She recalled seeing him on the football field as she awaited her turn to dance with the Rickards band during half-time. That made her happy, but she wished they had become closer.

“I just wish I could have talked to him before that happened. We were close, but I wish we could have gotten closer while he was alive,” Sanders said. “Everybody has a time when they leave. I think he did this for a reason. I think it was his time to go but he’s in better hands now.”

The small neighborhood near the intersection of Blountstown Highway, Tharpe Street and Mission Road was buzzing Friday as first responders arrived on scene.

Neighbors said some of their first thoughts were for Rollins’ family. Several said his older brother died in January from complications with sickle cell anemia.

Sanders was one of dozens of people who saw Rollins lying on the ground, a pool of blood spreading on his shirt.

Stephen Hardy was trying to help get the teen to the hospital after seeing him get shot. None of the teens involved were over 18, Hardy said.

“They were kids. They didn’t know what to do. They panicked,” Hardy said. “They were like ‘what do we do, what do we do?’ And I was like ‘get him to the hospital. That’s what you do.”

A group of people had trouble loading Rollins into a car to rush him to the hospital before emergency responders arrived. Hardy said he helped fold the teen’s legs into the back seat.

The shooting was not gang related and there was no argument or altercation beforehand, he said.

Hardy said his own 16-year-old son and Rollins used to play basketball on a goal that he set up on the street curb.

He said he always saw Rollins upbeat with a smile on his face. It’s tragic to see him pass in an instant.

“We all knew they all were playing, and they were playing around with a gun, one went off and hit him in the chest,” Hardy said. “It was just an accident. They were just children.”

Anyone with information is asked to call TPD at (850) 891-4200.

Contact Karl Etters at ketters@tallahassee.com or @KarlEtters on Twitter.