ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Days after a shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola, the Lakewood High community is in mourning.
One of the people shot and killed at Naval Air Station Pensacola was a Lakewood track and field star.
"The worst things happen to the best people. It’s just hard to believe because he was the last person you’d want something like that to happen to," Jazmine Hannan said.
Mohammed "Mo" Haitham was just 19-years-old. He joined the U.S. Navy after graduating in 2018. Hannan says she met Mohammed during gym class. He was sweet -- the type of person everyone wanted to be around.
"When we had our first conversation it was like instant friends. He was so nice to everyone," Hannan said.
His friends and family called him “Mo” out of love. He was ambitious, smart, and could light up a room with his charisma.
"I met him on the track team and he just randomly came up and started talking. I didn’t really know anybody and was by myself. He made me feel comfortable," Erik Hill said.
Hill was his teammate and friend. They last spoke during Thanksgiving when Mohammed came to visit family and friends.
"I’m just still in shock about it. I wish I could talk to him one more time, and I wish that two weeks ago wasn’t the last time I would’ve talked to him," Hill said.
His friends say Mo was a hero.
"The fact that he died trying to stop the shooter is incredible. It's probably because of him that more people that were there didn’t die," Hannan said.
They'll live each and every day with him in mind.
"Everything I do now is going to be for him. I'll never forget him," Hill said.
Lakewood High School plans on holding a vigil to commemorate Haitham's life later this week.
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