Family and friends say goodbye to teen killed during attempted robbery

Posted at: 09/11/2012 6:49 AM | Updated at: 09/11/2012 5:46 PM
By: Amanda Ciavarri | WHEC.com

Friends and family said their final goodbyes Tuesday to a teenager police say was shot and killed while waiting to buy shoes outside of a store in Gates. 

The funeral for 19-year-old Montre Bradley was Tuesday afternoon at Outreach Temple in Rochester. He was killed more than a week ago during what police are calling an attempted robbery. 

Whenever anyone talks about the kind of person Montre Bradley was words like kind, caring and fun always come up. The service was emotional, but it also had the same fun atmosphere Bradley tried bring to every part of life. 

It was a celebration of life, a life taken too soon. 

Devynn Sumrell, Bradley’s cousin, said, “I couldn't really accept the fact that it was him. To this day I can't really accept the fact that it is him. It's still not real to me.”

Police say 19-year-old Montre Bradley was standing outside of a store called Street Game with a number of people, all waiting for the debut of a popular pair of sneakers. That’s when police say two men approached the group in an apparent robbery attempt. Bradley was shot and later died at the hospital. On Tuesday, his family and friends packed into the Outreach Temple to say goodbye and remember. 

Sumrell said, “Montre was a funny person. He was a hard worker. He always worked for everything he got. He never really asked nobody for nothing. He was just somebody that was fun to be around.” 

Sumrell says his cousin had turned his life around. 

Sumrell said, “He went from a thug to a man of God.” 

Bradley had plans to go to MCC this fall. His friends and family say they will not let his spirit and his passion for life be forgotten. 

Sumrell said, “Just be yourself, that's what he taught me to be, to be myself. That's all he would want you to do. If you want to keep his memory, keep his legacy, just be yourself, go for your dreams, go for your goals nothing is too big for you.”

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