Inside the packed church, pictures of a youthful and smiling Mackai Bishop Jackson flashed on a screen — donning a white suit at a party, on the basketball court, with a group of friends, posing in front of a car.

It’s been nine days since 15-year-old Jackson, known among friends as MJ, was shot inside a Sackville St. apartment. The circumstances surrounding the shooting a week ago remained unclear as 200 family members, friends and members of the community gathered Wednesday to celebrate the life of the popular and vibrant teen.

They cried and hugged each other, remembering Jackson as a kind-hearted young man who loved people, music, dancing and sports. Some family members wore black hoodies emblazoned with gold letters LLMJ — Long Live Mackai Jackson.

“Mackai was the light of any party. He was always silly and playful,” said his aunt Alicia Indovino, who read the eulogy inside St. Bartholomew’s Anglican Church. She described Jackson, the youngest of three brothers, as brave and energetic, a determined boy who delivered on his commitments.

Jackson played on the Toronto Eagles soccer team for three years and was a fixture on the Regent Park Community Centre basketball court, according to his friends.

Indovino said Jackson was playful and resourceful. He once emptied his mother’s kitchen of all snacks and sodas, then made cupcakes and set it all on a table to sell in front of a FreshCo supermarket.

Later, to his mother, Jackson “indicated that his money was his and she needed to use her own money to purchase the items back,” said Indovino, as audience members cracked smiles.

“His love for his mother was like no other, and he was Natasha’s right hand,” Indovino said.

Jackson was pronounced dead inside an apartment at 230 Sackville St. — the building where he lived — on the afternoon of Sept. 25.

Mourners have brought flowers and candles to a makeshift memorial at the building’s entrance. They’ve written poems praising Jackson and plastered them on the walls. They’ve left sneakers, basketballs and signed jerseys.

Someone had also left a cake in a box. Jackson had turned 15 just two days before the shooting.

Police spokesperson Jenifferjit Sidhu said the investigation into Jackson’s death is ongoing and offered no new information about possible suspects or the circumstances around his death.

His death was the city’s 81st homicide of the year, according to Toronto Police statistics.