CUMBERLAND, Md. — A vigil was held Thursday night to remember the life of Fort Hill student Saiquan Jenkins at Grace Brethren Church on Williams Road.
Jenkins, 17, was fatally stabbed near Fort Hill High School on Thursday. He was a junior and member of the Sentinels’ varsity football team.
“I think we need to remember Saiquan for the smile he had,” Fort Hill head football coach Zack Alkire said Thursday night over the phone. “He was such a light-hearted kid. He always lit up the room. He was somebody who came to this town and instantly was able to get people to just want to be around him.
“He’s a kid that we would fight for, come out and play ball, come out and play football, come out and play basketball, come out and run track. He wasn’t afraid to be himself, whether it was horseback riding or going out and playing two-hand touch or just hanging out.
“He was one of the guys. He was a kid that everybody loved. He was a kid that everybody wanted to be around. He was a kid that kids were willing to help. They just really couldn’t get enough of Quan.”
The community came out in droves. Inside, the church pews were mostly occupied by Fort Hill students and Jenkins’ teammates. A crowd of more than a hundred that couldn’t fit in the church crowded around the entrance to pay their respects.
Buddy House, an assistant coach on the Fort Hill football team, opened with some words about the Fort Hill community.
“The community rallies around tragedy,” House said. “There are times like these that make or break a community. ... We don’t know when the end is near for any of us.”
Michael Allen — whose son Mikey Allen is a student-athlete at Bishop Walsh and was close friends with Jenkins — told a story about Jenkins.
“He was in my house each of the last two weekends,” Allen said. “Just last Sunday, he came up from behind, tapped me on the shoulder and asked for a bowl of cereal.
“These things happen for a reason. ... To all the young people here, all the beef we have with others, it’s not worth it. Love together, forgive people and do what God wants us to do.
“Saiquan, be it for what it is, died for his brother. Not many can say they did, but he actually did.”
Alkire, like House, stressed the importance of community in a difficult time like this.
“It’s really important that you guys can be a community together,” Alkire said. “Quan was always smiling, always laughing; he’d want us to pick up and laugh and smile on his account together.”
A long pause followed Alkire’s statement; sniffles were the only thing breaking the silence. An emotional moment followed as Alkire hugged Jenkins’ brothers.
Everyone joined in the singing of “Amazing Grace,” then Lance Bender, a quarterback on the football team, welcomed pastor Jason Smith to lead a prayer.
“I don’t know what to say that will change the pain, the anger, the bitterness, the confusion,” Smith said. “There’s something going on tonight that’s bigger than the people in this room.
“Saiquan was someone who was respectful, who was kind. You can’t fake that.”
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