Fight erupts at peace vigil for slain Minneapolis teen

A peace vigil for a slain teenager at North Commons Park in Minneapolis was briefly interrupted Wednesday night by a fight that police broke up.

The gathering of several hundred people was in remembrance of 17-year-old Nehemiah Steverson, who was shot and killed early Sunday.

His mother, Angela Steverson, made a passionate plea Wednesday for peace at the vigil.

"I'm so sick of us raising children that hate one another because they're not getting love at home," said Angela Steverson at a vigil held in North Commons Park, not far from where her son was shot. "We're so busy loving on another man or loving on another woman, that we're not loving our kids."

Steverson told the gathering that it's time to stop blaming others for the violence in the community. And the son teenager's father, Randy Donnerson, said young people face a dangerous environment.

"My son didn't have to die the way that he did. My son was the coolest guy I know," Donnerson said. "I miss my son every hour. Every second, every minute."

Steverson said the large number of people at the vigil, which included her son's high school principal, showed how much people loved and will miss her son.

Steverson as a junior at Edison High School, where he played football and was a budding chef.

The altercation during the vigil sent some people scrambling out of the park. A few people said they were afraid someone would start shooting. Police officers on the scene used a chemical irritant to break up the fight and the vigil continued.

Still, the overwhelming theme of the gathering was a call for peace and for justice. V.J. Smith, President of MAD DADS, a co-sponsor of the vigil, told the crowd that somebody out there knows who shot Steverson.

"Somebody got to say something, because this mother deserves to get closure for this situation," said Smith. "Our community has to start waking up!"