NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas – A valiant effort was made to save the life of a New Braunfels teen who was killed Saturday night.

A neighbor tried to save Conrad Kuntz, 17, after he was shot in a grassy area of an empty lot on Lahn Road, on the city’s Northeast Side.

Related: 15-year-old charged with murder in fatal shooting of New Braunfels teen

"I was just about to lay down when I heard a pop," Jay Robledo said.

When Robledo looked out his bedroom window, he said, he realized what had sounded like a single firecracker was actually a gunshot.

"It was just unreal," he said.

The shooting is uncommon for the Hill Country town, which is also a popular tourist destination. It is the first homicide in the community this year. Robledo was there in Kuntz' final moments.

"I just kept asking him, ‘If you can hear me, squeeze my hand. If you can hear me, squeeze my hand.’ Just, you know, squeeze my hand, and he wasn't doing nothing," he said.

Neighbors told police they heard arguing before the shooting, and believe Kuntz was with a friend at the time of the shooting.

KSAT spoke with the victim’s family, and they declined to comment. A parent whose child was friends with Kuntz said school counselors at New Braunfels High School had reached out to students and they are working on creating a memorial in his memory.

A member of the swim team, his friends took to social media to share their memories. Police didn’t say if they have a suspect, or why the teen was 2 1/2 miles from his home.

"He (had) a life ahead of him, and now he won't live that life because of a choice that someone made," Robledo said.

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the Comal County Crime Stoppers at 830-620-8477.

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