Another young life lost. Another family in mourning. Another sad story. | Jenice Armstrong

To get Tauhid Collins out of bed some mornings, his grandmother knew she had to be firm, and maybe put a little bass in her voice.

But on the morning of Feb. 15, the 17-year-old aspiring rapper bounded up without much prodding.

Tauhid, whose stage name was Tata Chapo, was in a good mood despite having been up late the night before doing homework. It was the day his 35-year-old mother, Nikia, was scheduled to graduate from nursing school, and he was excited. He’d even cut off his dreadlocks to please her.

The 11th grader went with his grandmother and godmother to the Prism Career Institute, in the 8000 block of Roosevelt Boulevard, to watch as a beaming Nikia, dressed all in white, had her big day.

After the ceremony, Nikia went off with her sisters to celebrate. Tauhid wound up back at his grandmother’s house, in the 5800 block of Angora Terrace, where he ate pizza, stromboli, and hot wings with his girlfriend, another friend, and his grandmother and watched HGTV’s My Lottery Dream Home. It was a fun evening, with lots of laughing and kidding around.

After recording a quick video in the dining room and placing it on Instagram, Tauhid and the friend headed to a corner store to get soda. They didn’t plan to be out long, so Tauhid didn’t bother putting a jacket over the red hoodie he was wearing.

Moments after they stepped outside, shots rang out. The friend came running back, yelling, “They shot him! An old head shot him!” Tauhid’s grandmother ran outside, where she collapsed in the street near her grandson’s bloodied body, and cried.

Just like that, another young life had been snuffed out. Another family was in mourning.

In a city where shootings happen routinely, I was struck by Tauhid’s, because it took place on his mother’s graduation day.

“It was the best and worst day of my daughter’s life,” said his grandmother, Nichelle Collins, 50.

Two days later, on Feb. 17, the block became the site of a vigil in Tauhid’s memory. His friends sang rap songs he had created. His mother appealed for an end to the violence.

“If you feel like you have to go out and avenge my son’s death — don’t do it, don’t do it,” she said, according to a local news report.

An hour later, an 18-year-old was shot and killed nearby. The next day, two teenage girls were wounded by gunfire. Police haven’t said whether any of the cases were related and continue to investigate.

Police Homicide Capt. Jason Smith declined to discuss a possible motive in any of the cases. “I’m very limited as to what I can tell you due to the sensitivity," he said. “From what I understand, [Tauhid] was very much loved by a lot of the members of the community.”

“Tata,” as his family called Tauhid, had some issues with fighting but had been doing better in recent weeks.

“His last three weeks, he was on the ball,” his grandmother pointed out.

She said her daughter, who was raised on Angora, was too distraught to talk.

Nichelle Collins is walking around in a daze. Nothing feels real to her right now. She described it as like watching a TV show about someone else’s life.

I cannot imagine what it’s like to be her right now, still living in that house where her grandson spent his early life and also his final evening.

“Each time I walk up the street, I’ve got to walk past where my grandson was lying," she told me.

Sadness engulfs her formerly happy, bustling home as she sits and waits for answers — answers that may never come.