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Slain Urban Prep Student "Enjoyed Making Others Smile"

CHICAGO (CBS) -- He loved basketball and was likely headed to college, but the mother of slain Urban Prep student Deonte Hoard wonders why her son died on the streets of Chicago.

"He was just full of life," said Hoard's mother Ebonie Martin. "He really enjoyed making others smile."

Monday on his way to the gym from a store, she says her 17-year-old son was shot to death by a drive-by shooter.

"When I got there, he was just laying there," Martin said. "There was already a police standing by him. [The officer] was like...'I'm sorry ma'am.' "

Hoard's passions were basketball and rapping. He was going to graduate from Urban Prep Academy, in just a few weeks. His mother says eight colleges, had already accepted him.

"He wanted to focus on business," Martin said.

"He was well-liked," said Urban Prep CEO Tim King. "He was a personality. People liked him within the school and his classmates liked him. He was well-respected

As the teen's friends mourned his death at the spot where he lost his life, surveillance cameras look down on the same area. Police are looking to see if the teen's murder was captured on video.

"It's just hurtful," Martin said. "The right thing to do is just turn yourself in. Have a heart."

Police say that no one is in custody and they are continuing to investigate.

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