On Friday night, a 16-year-old was fatally shot in the Lower East Side. Police believe that Raphael Ward was killed for his Marmot winter parka at the intersection of Rivington Street and Columbia Street around 9:10 p.m. Friday. “Someone was trying to take his coat, but didn’t get it,” a police source told the News. The Post talked to several of Ward's friends, who suggested that Ward may have known the perp beforehand; they said that several hours before the shooting, he posted on Facebook, "I'm dead."

Cynthia Nieves, 14, told the Post she met Ward just before he was gunned down. Although he didn’t tell her what was wrong, he warned her: “Go home!” She added: “He knew they were coming back." Ward's friend Nicholas Ramos, 18, said they went to get a slice of pizza across from DeWitt Reformed Church, but Ward “stopped to talk to somebody and I went across the street to the pizza place, and that’s when he got shot,” said Ramos.

“It’s heartbreaking,” said another close friend, 16-year-old Will Claudio. “We’ve been close friends since elementary school at PS 140 and he was always a good student, never in trouble, just a real good kid.” Other locals told the Times that Ward "may have sometimes hung out with people who were in gangs, but they portrayed him differently, as an A student with a vivid sense of humor and a strong commitment to sports." Ward played shortstop for teams like the Pirates, Orioles, and the Hawks, organized by the local Boys Club.

This was the first murder in Manhattan of the new year. State Senator Daniel Squadron released this statement:

We must continue to work together as a community to fight the scourge of gun violence and make our homes and our streets safer for our families. From stronger gun laws to improved safety at NYCHA developments, we are reminded far too often that the time to act is now.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer has criticized NYCHA for not having more surveillance cameras in the area: "My office allocated funds for security cameras for Baruch Houses in 2012, but only initial steps have been taken to install them."

Police describe the gunman as 5-foot-6, 120 to 140 pounds, and say he was wearing a dark wool hat and a ski mask at the time of the shooting. Several witnesses told ABC that the shooter was also a teen. No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.

Update: Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver released this statement about the murder:

I want to express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Raphael Ward, whose senseless death has brought immense grief to our community. As a father and a grandfather it pains me greatly to see someone taken from us so young. My neighbors on the Lower East Side have suffered far too much from the scourge of gun violence. That is why we held a gun buy back program recently in an effort to remove dangerous weapons from our streets. We will continue to fight for tougher measures to keep guns out of the wrong hands and to make our neighborhood, particularly our public housing complexes, safer.