DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Family and friends of Aryion Ramond Clendenning gathered inside Peace Missionary Baptist Church to say their final goodbyes to the teenager who was affectionately known as A.J.
"This has to stop. We are losing the youth," said Dominica Chappell, AJ's aunt. "It's a wound that has been opened again. Five years ago, we lost my nephew Z'yon. Here we are doing the same thing over and over again."
In 2019, Z'yon Person was also shot and killed in Durham when he was on his way to get snowcones. He was A.J.'s cousin.
A.J. was shot and killed Jan. 11 while playing in the snow on Danube Lane.
On Thursday, the family remembered A.J. as a joyful and vibrant young man.
"He loved to dance. He was always happy. He knew he was the freshest kid in the room," Chappell said.
People who knew and loved the teen, such as Pastor Delon Fletcher, filled the pews inside the church as a show of support. Many of them are desperately searching for solutions to tackling crime in the Bull City.
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"It's just completely devastating. It requires a holistic approach of community, interfaith, city, municipal leaders, whomever to really get to the table and figure out what we're going to do about this gun violence," Fletcher said.
It's a concern felt by the likes of Nathan Baines, who is A.J.'s uncle. He wore a shirt in honor of his nephew that had "Forever 15" written on the sleeve.
"This shirt is everything. It's something I'm going to keep. I got it made for him. It's pictures of him from all steps of life," said Baines.
Durham police continue investigating the case and searching for who is behind A.J.'s life being cut short, including releasing a picture of a 2016 white Hyundai Sonata that investigators said is connected to the shooting. There have been no arrests, but loved ones are hopeful.
"We got justice five years ago. We're going to get it again. I'm confident," said Chappell.