‘He’s a champ.’ Community holds vigil for teen killed while defending his mother
Nearly 100 friends, family and community members gathered Monday night to celebrate and remember the life of 17-year-old Raphael Butler-Grimmett, the 17-year-old shot and killed during a family skirmish on Saturday.
“I didn’t know my grandson was this popular,” Raphael’s grandmother, Cynthia Grimmett, said as she surveyed the crowd. “But this makes sense, Ralphie was always the life of the party.”
The atmosphere wasn’t quite that of a party the night Raphael was killed, though, according to his cousin Makayla Taylor, it wasn’t far from one, either. “We were just chilling with our family. Laughing, drinking margaritas, just hanging out,” Taylor said.
It wasn’t until about 5 a.m. that Taylor says a male in-law relative who had also been drinking struck Raphael’s mother, Camey, and instigated a fight with Raphael.
“Raphael started beating him up,” Cynthia recalled.
The in-law, who Cynthia describes as being over 30 years old, was joined that night by his nephew.
“The sidekick nephew tried to fight Ralph, but Ralph was ducking and dodging him,” Cynthia said.
It was then, frustrated, drunk and embarrassed at the prospect of a teenager besting two adult men, that Cynthia says the nephew drew a firearm and shot Raphael multiple times.
“They chased Ralph down like a dog, shooting him” Cynthia says. “I saw them. He stood over him, him and his accomplice, stood over him and shot at him.”
Kansas City police officers patrolling near the 6800 block of Cleveland Avenue say they heard gunfire and saw a vehicle speeding away.
The officers pursued the vehicle into Kansas, where it crashed at Interstate 35 and Seventh Street. Officers took the driver into custody.
The identities of the two men have not been released.
“That’s family stuff,” Cynthia says. “These weren’t strangers.”
Now, instead of pondering on whether Raphael’s girlfriend is carrying twins or salivating over what kind of cuisine “Ralphie” might specialize in once he accomplished his goal of becoming a chef, the Grimmett family focuses on funeral preparations.
A GoFundMe page — “helping bury a loved one” — is raising money for his funeral and burial.
“I think I’m still in shock,” Camey says. “My son died in my arms.”
Wearing a gray T-shirt with Raphael’s likeness, Camey stood in the middle of a swarm of Ralphie’s friends, classmates, close and distant relatives and well-wishers as the group released a swarm of technicolored helium balloons in the slain teen’s honor.
“He was a fighter,” Camey said, recalling the final moments in which she held her son in her arms before he took his final breath. “He’s a champ. I’m proud of my baby for trying to hold on. He didn’t want to give up.”
This story was originally published August 27, 2018 at 10:12 PM.