Camden mourns shooting deaths of two teens

CAMDEN – A vigil was held Sunday night for two young people who died following a shooting near a city park in the early hours of Easter.

Police arrived at the 2900 block of Pierce Street in Camden, in front of Von Nieda Park, and found two females, ages 18 and 19, inside of a vehicle, and a 17-year-old male laying on the ground, all with gunshot wounds, according to Camden County Prosecutor Mary Eva Colalillo.

The male and Shirleen Caban, 19, both of Camden, were pronounced deceased shortly before 1 a.m., according to Colalillo, while the other person, identified only as a Sewell resident, remained hospitalized.

The 17-year-old was identified as Sincere Howard in a post on the Woodrow Wilson High School Facebook page.

"Our deepest condolences goes out to the family during these hard times," the school wrote in the post. The comment section was filled with thoughts and prayers for his family.

Howard was also a member of the Woodrow Wilson basketball team.

As of Monday morning, no arrests had been made. Neither a description of the shooter nor a motive was disclosed by Colalillo.

Friends and family created a memorial with candles at the park, according to NBC 10 Philadelphia.

Thalia Cruz, a friend of the two who died, told 6 ABC Action News they were "loved by everybody" and no one expected them to be shot.

Another friend said she couldn't imagine anyone that didn't like Howard, and he was close to Caban.

Grief counseling will be available at the high school on Monday, according to the Courier Post.

Colalillo asked anyone with information about the shooting to contact her office at 856-225-8623 or Camden County Police at 856-757-7420.