Dozens of Morgan State University students slowly gathered under the dark veil of the evening on Wednesday. 

Some held tall, white candles. Others carried boxes of white tea lights and still others held bunches of blue and white balloons. One or two held photos of a young man in their hands.

More than 100 of students and guests crowded into a semi-circle and held a candlelight vigil that allowed them to mourn Gavin “Loc” Yarbough’s passing and celebrate his life. They took turns speaking and played music, commemorating his life before releasing balloons into the sky.

“He was a funny person. Loc was a determined person. Loc was what you would call a product of hard work,” said his friend Opemipo Ayodele, a senior in business administration. “We all had a goal and Loc was at the forefront of all of that … he inspired us to go accomplish our goals and we wouldn’t be where we at without Loc being in our lives. I thank God for him for sure.” 

Pittsburgh police said that at approximately 10:50 p.m., Yarbough was shot in the 6200 block of Meadow St in Pittsburgh on Monday, Sept. 16. He was taken to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center – Presbyterian emergency room where he was pronounced dead at 11:02 p.m.

Yarbough, 21, was a senior in business administration and entrepreneur from Homestead, Pennsylvania — one of Pittsburgh’s suburbs. According to several of his friends, Homestead was a place Yarbough avoided but circumstances forced him to briefly return, so he did. Yarbough was waiting to find housing as he intended to return to Morgan and complete his final year of classes.

“I think he was a great person,” said Ferdinand Nyivih, who was one of Yarbough’s best friends. “[This] was a celebration of life — an opportunity to grieve as well to start the grieving processes. Y’know, this is a lot. Honestly, it’s just a lot. It says he was a 21-year-old man, I still feel like we all kids tryna figure it out.”

Nyivih, a senior in sports administration, was both Yarbough’s teammate and former roommate. Both of them tried out for the team as walkons and endured the training, early practices and demanding schedule together — which built a brotherly bond between them.

Yarbough’s digital presence on various websites suggested the hopes he had for his future. On NCSA sports — a college recruiting website — Yarbough included a personal message on his football profile.

“I want to get an offer and go to college for sports mainly because no one in my family fulfilled it. I would be the first. I want my hard work to pay off and make everyone proud,” wrote Yarbough.

He was active on LinkedIn as well and posted a message just two weeks ago.

“I’m Blessed & Highly Favored To Be Starting My Senior Year @ THE Morgan State University,” wrote Yarbough. “Looking Foward [sic] To All My Future Business Endeavors!”

Morgan was Yarbough’s escape from a neighborhood he found to be dangerous — “full of distractions” as Alvin Dzaka, a senior in computer science and fellow athlete, put it.

Dzaka was another one of Yarbough’s roommates over the years and said he doesn’t often have close friends. Regardless, Yarbough was one of the few people close to Dzaka.

“Loc was somebody that… I don’t know what it was but as soon as we met, we just clicked,” said Dzaka. “We all walked onto the same football team. We all made the team. If I had a bad day, he’d pick me up and if he had a bad day, I’d pick him up.”

Many of Yarbough’s friends spoke of his spirit, joy, determination and hustle — to them, Yarbough was as congenial as he was honest, as fun as he was thoughtful and as understanding as he was playful.

They remember the parties they attended together as much as the late night, thoughtful conversations they shared.

“[It’s] just a struggle to not only try to find yourself in college and not only try to find good, loyal friends but also try to make our way with football. I think being a walkon is one of the hardest things in the world,” said Nyivih. “That’s why this loss hit me so different. Because we lived the same struggle, it’s second to none.”

Yarbough played as the defensive back in 2023 and was a first team all-conference selection. He ran the clothing brand “Doue Worldwide” that he’d created and looked forward to completing his bachelor’s degree.

“I just want people to understand that it’s okay to not understand everything that’s going on in life,” said Nyivih. “Just understand that you are blessed to continue, just to keep going. Long as you tryin’, as long as you gettin’ up everyday and tryin’ — the outcome don’t even matter. That’s something that Gavin always did. He just kept going, he kept goin’ until the end.”

The Pittsburgh Police Violent Crime Unit is investigating Yarbough’s case and they ask anyone with information to call them at (412) 323-7161.