INDIANAPOLIS — Mentors and mentees in New Breed Of Youth, or New BOY, remember Sha’Kiey Moore as fun, goofy and “thinking he was best at everything.”
Moore, a treasured member of this group, was found shot and killed Thanksgiving morning near the corner of Leland Ave and 34th St. on the northeast side of Indy.
Kareem Hines, the founder of New BOY, said Moore was very involved in the group.
”Sha’Kiey was into everything, he was into our sports program on Monday, our martial arts program on Wednesday, our gloves up guns down program, basketball, football, there wasn’t an activity or program we had he wasn’t involved in,” Hines said.
Wednesday is the most important night of the New BOY week, though. Hines said that is Leader Circle night.
”We have cultivated a space and nurtured a space for young men to come together to be able to share with each other, express their emotions,” Hines said. “Talk about the trials and tribulations that have happened.”
This Wednesday was different than usual, though, it was the first one without Moore.
”Sha’Kiey was different, we knew that from the onset of meeting him,” Hines said. “He was the kind of young man who would have changed the culture and he bought into the philosophy.”
Wednesday, Hines passed around pictures of Sha’Kiey to everyone in the room. Hines said Sha’Kiey was especially involved in karate.
”Even though he had his challenges in the community, he embraced what we were doing as a group,” Hines said.
The young men part of this group, including Sha’Kiey’s older brother, are struggling with the loss.
”Each one of these young men in here, they are hurting right now,” said Dorothy Brady. She was the first grandmother to come to a New BOY meeting and hasn’t missed one since. All of the teens call her “G-Ma.”
”They confide in me with a lot of things, they all have my number so they text me for advice if they’re in trouble, if they hungry, if they need something,” Brady said. “I am literally there like they are my grandkids so they know if nobody else believes in them, G-Ma does.”
Brady said Sha’Kiey was her “guy”, she could always count on him to help out.
”That was my baby,” she said. “In here I saw growth in him, it just hurts me so bad because I’m close to him too.”
Police ruled Sha’kiey’s death a homicide and are investigating.
Hines said they’ll honor Sha’kiey by doing what they always do.
“By coming together and letting everybody in this community know, through your story, that his death will not be in vain, his memory will live on,” Hines said.
If you have any information about Sha’Kiey Moore’s death, you’re encouraged to call Crime Stoppers.
New BOY has events almost every night of the week and is always looking for new mentees and mentors. For more information, you can check out their website.
