Friends, family to honor 17-year-old Cary High student fatally shot after Thanksgiving

The friends and family of a Durham teenager who died three days after Thanksgiving want him to be remembered for making people smile.

Ricardo Meza-Ramirez, 17, was shot early Sunday morning on Tricenter Boulevard, Durham police said.

A news release said the teenager walked into a local hospital just before 2 a.m. and died from his injuries.

John Carvajal Campos, 22, of Durham, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and was detained at the Durham County jail on $10,000 bail. He was released Sunday after posting bond, according to ABC11, The News & Observer’s media partner.

Friends of Meza-Ramirez told ABC11 that he and Campos were friends and said they had heard the shooting was an accident.

Meza-Ramirez was a student at Cary High School and since Sunday, his family has been trying to plan a funeral to lay him to rest. and celebrate his life.

As of Wednesday, a fundraiser created by the teenager’s friend, Katelyn Eccleston, had raised over $3,000 to cover funeral costs. It has a goal of $8,000.

“We lost one of the best people to walk this earth,” the fundraiser page read. “Ricardo knew how to put a smile on everybody’s face and make sure everybody was having a good time.”

In a statement sent to Cary High families Wednesday night, Principal Nolan Bryant said Meza-Ramirez was an 11th grader at the school.

“Our condolences, thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends,” Byrant wrote. “Please keep them and all of those that have been impacted by this loss in our hearts and prayers.”

A ‘kind soul,’ well liked, says principal

In an email to The N&O, Bryant said Meza-Ramirez was a “kind soul, who was well-liked by his peers and the Cary High staff.”

“His death is truly a tragedy and our hearts break for his family,” he said.

Cary High has offered resources for families to talk to students about the death including Transitions GriefCare which provides free resources to students to help then navigate the loss.

“Our student services team continues to be available to support any students who need assistance as they move through this difficult time. We are a school family and we will continue to support one another as we process this loss and navigate this challenging time together,” the statement read.

As of Nov. 18, there had been 45 homicides in Durham this year, according to police statistics. That was up from 39 and 44 homicides by the same date in the previous two years.

This story was originally published November 27, 2023 at 3:35 PM.