When an 18-year old African American male who dies of a gunshot wound, my first thought is gang activity. His church affiliation may have actually attracted the attack by clashing with local gang values. Somehow, I think the characterization of Jabber as a sweet, gently, good boy is not the complete story. He was a target for some reason.
At this point, comforting his mother and helping the family with burial costs is the most immediate and appropriate course of action. I would be inclined to see if the local police department has a gang detail and see if anyone is bragging about the killing.
There's more to the story. Jabbar has two brothers who have not been, well, shall we say, completely out of trouble. I have my suspicions that maybe Jabbar was mistaken for one of them but I don't know. One thing I do know for sure is that Jabbar was a good boy and it wasn't easy to stay clean and pure but he did. Of course, you may be right that because of his purity and goodness he was the target. That could have happened. I'll keep you guys posted. I visited Mary this morning and delivered a cake. She looked a little better. The detectives showed up and I left but before I left I told them that I hoped they'd find who did this terrible thing. Thanks for your post and for your heart-felt concern.