Ryan Vigil Obituary

Ryan Vigil attended Highland High School in Albuquerque, NM. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about Ryan Vigil.

Graduation Year	Class of 2008
Date of Passing	Oct 18, 2007
About	Word traveled fast by text message and cell phone: Ryan Vigil was dead. The Highland High School student - a baseball standout and a well-liked senior - had been shot in the head Thursday afternoon while sitting in a car in the Northeast Heights. His death seemed both tragic and ironic, since the 17-year-old was a member of Empower, a group aiming to reduce violence, particularly gun violence, Highland High Principal Nikki Dennis said. Albuquerque police said late Thursday they still have questions surrounding the shooting. At 4:30 p.m., an Albuquerque police officer leaving the Circle-K at Pennsylvania and Central avenues Northeast was approached by two teenage boys, police spokeswoman Trish Hoffman said. The teens, one 16, one 19, told the officer that their friend had been shot. The officer found Vigil in the front passenger seat of the vehicle parked at the store. He was dead. The teens told police they had stopped at a stop sign near Copper Avenue and General Arnold Street Northeast, near the National Guard Armory, when a man approached them on foot and shot Vigil, Hoffman said. The boys said the man then fled in a red, four-door Mazda, she said. According to their report, they then drove about a mile to the Circle K, passing at least one gas station along the way. Thursday night, it was not clear whether the teens called 911. Hoffman said the incident is still under investigation and that additional details could be released today. Police kept the Circle K and the shooting site cordoned off throughout the night. Meanwhile, Dennis consoled students at after-school activities and volleyball games at Highland. "The amount of grief I see now among my student body . . .," Dennis said from the volleyball game Thursday night. "They heard the news, texting friends, (using) cell phones. We live in the electronic age." This morning, Highland baseball coach Anthony Lovato tried to figure out how he would make sense of the tragedy to his team, which relied on Vigil's presence at third base and at the plate. "We're getting together as a team to deal with this the best way we can together," he said. "But it's not going to be easy. "It's something you never expect. It's something you see in the movies," he continued. "It's really hard. I know a lot of kids are in shock." Lovato said he expected Vigil to lead the Hornets this year, then go on to play baseball in college. "He always had a smile on his face," Lovato said. "He had an extremely hard work ethic - a great kid to be around." Dennis also lamented the violence of the age. "If you write any headline, he's an example of the random violence facing our nation," Dennis said. "Write that he was a good kid, a really good kid." Dennis said she got a call from Lovato alerting her to the shooting. She said Lovato's son was with Vigil at the time of the incident. The teen is being interviewed by police, Hoffman said. Dennis said the boys were well liked. She said they were likely just off baseball practice and going to get some snacks. "The next thing we knew," she said, "Ryan is dead." Lovato said he still didn't know all the details of the incident. All he could do, he said, was try to honor Vigil by dedicating the season to him. That, and something more. "We're going to name our field after him," he said.