Community remembers life of Chesterfield teen killed in Richmond earlier this week

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - Three days after Richmond’s first murder of the year involving a minor, dozens of friends and family gathered off of Richmond Highway to honor the life of TJ Harris.

“As you can see, my son was just a fun-spirited person,” Anthony Harris, TJ’s dad, said. “He always had a smile on his face and always wanted to have fun.”

Harris said his son was always a hard worker who protected his friends and loved ones.

”Anyway, that he can make some money legally if he’s willing to learn, you could take him, and he would do carpentry,” Harris said. “I do HVAC for a living, and he would come to do HVAC with me. If somebody is mowing grass or washing cars, he’d do it.”

TJ’s family said he had just gotten off of work Tuesday night and was trying to recover something for a friend that was stolen in Richmond.

That’s when the Chesterfield teen was shot just before midnight outside of a home on Terminal Avenue.

Police have yet to make an arrest but are narrowing down a suspect.

The family hopes whoever did this is caught. They also hope their son’s friends can heal from this loss of a young life.

”This helps make me feel better,” Harris said. “That all the people that loved him and got his back showed up, so it lets me know that my son had an impact in this world.”

A service will be held for TJ on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. at Mimms Funeral Services in Richmond.

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