SEATTLE — Seattle's Rainier Beach community held tribute for a teen who was shot and killed on Mother's Day last year.
Conner Dassa-Holland, 18, was a freshman at the University of Washington when he was shot in front of his Rainier Beach home in May of 2020.
His case remains an active and open investigation, according to Seattle Police, but no information on a suspect or motive has been released.
The Rainier Beach High School football team, meanwhile, held a tribute for Dassa-Holland during its first game of the season Saturday.
"The players and the coaches they decided you know, to honor one of our fallen Vikings," said Rainier Beach High School Athletic Director George Foster.
Foster said Dassa-Holland was the team captain and played offensive guard for the football team while he was a student at Rainier Beach High. The teen was also senior class president and a suicide prevention peer counselor.
"Conner was a great kid," Foster said. "He's the kind of kid that if you had a daughter, you know, I mean you'd want your daughter to marry him."
Dassa-Holland's mother, Alicia Dassa, said she appreciated the support from her Rainier Beach community.
"For us to be embraced by the team and by the school, it's really overwhelming. We're really lucky," Dassa said.
Dassa and her family, along with loved ones, led Saturday night's game kickoff with a dedication and participated in the coin toss.
The family also released balloons bearing Dassa-Holland's team number, 70.
The tribute also served as a reminder of the problem of youth gun violence in the city, according to organizers of the dedication.
It comes nearly a week after Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz acknowledged a rise in gun violence, saying in an address Tuesday there were at least a hundred more shootings in Seattle this year compared to this time last year, and at least 150 more this year than in 2019.
"But what's the solution? No one knows," Dassa said.