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Anchorage

15-year-old Anchorage girl who was fatally shot in Fairview is remembered at candlelight vigil

By Loren Holmes
Updated: December 11, 2021 Published: December 11, 2021

Camilla Diaz, left, and Allison Diaz look at a photo of Shatara Stone, a 15-year-old sophomore at Bartlett High School who was shot earlier this week and died Thursday, as their mother Kadiya Diaz hugs Stone's mother Tara Jones at a candlelight vigil on Friday, Dec. 10, 2021. Odell Branch III, 42, was charged Wednesday with attempted murder and assault in the shooting, which happened at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in the heart of the Fairview neighborhood. At the time Branch was initially charged, Stone was on life support. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Family and friends of Shatara Stone, a sophomore at Bartlett High School, gathered Friday afternoon for a candlelight vigil at the intersection where she was shot. Stone, 15, died Thursday morning after spending two days on life support.

Many of the dozens of people who gathered at 13th Avenue and Denali Street were dressed in purple, her favorite color. Stone’s mother, Tara Jones, described her daughter as her best friend. “I know that sounds weird because she was my daughter,” she said, “but I had her when I was 17.”

Shatara Stone would have turned 16 on Dec. 31.

[‘He took my baby for nothing’: Anchorage girl fatally shot while in car with her mom]

Family and friends gather at a candlelight vigil for Shatara Stone. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Tara Jones receives a hug from her sister Nadine Evans at the vigil. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Assembly member Forrest Dunbar, left, helps light candles at a vigil for Shatara Stone. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Tara Jones remembers her daughter Shatara Stone. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Family and friends gather at the candlelight vigil. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

A balloon carries the words "You were so beautiful Rip Shatara" at a vigil for Shatara Stone, a 15-year-old sophomore at Bartlett High School who was shot earlier this week and died Thursday. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Nadine Evans, center, hugs other attendees at the candlelight vigil. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Family and friends gather at a candlelight vigil on Friday for Shatara Stone. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Sharnall Stone places flowers at a candlelight vigil for her niece Shatara Stone. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Tara Jones receives a hug at a vigil for Jones's daughter Shatara Stone. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Omajinai Jackson stands on her uncle Davontae Becker's shoulders as she talks to a crowd about her sister Shatara. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Tara Jones watches balloons rise into the sky on Friday at a vigil for Jones's daughter Shatara Stone. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Family and friends gather at the vigil on Friday. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

Loren Holmes

Loren Holmes is a staff photojournalist at the Anchorage Daily News. Contact him at loren@adn.com.

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