Hundreds of people gathered Wednesday night at the Belle Chasse High School football field, many wearing the color green, to honor the memory of 17-year-old Jacque St. Ann, who died over the weekend.
St. Ann’s face decorated T-shirts and the gate of the football field as friends, family, and classmates prayed, lit candles and remembered his life. St. Ann’s cousins, Raven and Demetria Gaines, shared their memories of him before entering the vigil Wednesday night.
“You can tell he was a very loved kid,” Raven said. “Always was a good kid. Always around other people, making them laugh. He was a good child. He really was.”
St. Ann died from blunt force injuries after falling at the abandoned Plaza Tower in downtown New Orleans over the weekend.
“Heaven has a bright star up there. Very bright,” Demetria said.
Police said St. Ann and a group of friends entered the fenced-off building and went to a higher floor. While the group went down the stairs, St. Ann fell. First responders pronounced him dead at the scene.
“That incident that happened, he’s more than that,” Demetria said. “He’s, you know, a child that was about senior year, probably had a whole life in front of him. We don’t want that to be the last thing they know of him.”
St. Ann’s immediate family did not speak on camera Wednesday night, but told WDSU they plan to host a news conference in the coming weeks.
An online fundraiser has collected more than $19,000 as of Wednesday night for Jacque’s mother, Mia St. Ann. According to the website, organizers write the money will help cover funeral expenses and provide living expenses for Mia while she is unable to work.
READ MORE:Hundreds attend Belle Chasse vigil for teen who died in tragic fall
