FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Friends of Levil Smith are mourning the loss of a man they said was like family to them.
"With all the violence that's going on right now, I've lost people to like the same kind of violence he went through, it really hits too close to home," said one friend who didn't want to be identified.
She said the 37-year-old man went to school with her sister and that they grew up together in Fort Pierce.
"Whatever we had going on he was here, and not to have him anymore, that really, really hurts," said his friend.
She said in their adult years, he would come by the house regularly and say hi to her and her family as they sat outside in the driveway.
"That's not the kind of person that I would think that this would happen to," said his friend. "He was too sweet, too nice."
Fort Pierce police said someone walked up to Smith along North 24th Street and Canal Terrace on Sunday and opened fire.
"How many gunshots would you say you heard?" asked WPTV reporter Joel Lopez to another friend of Smith's who said she was outside when the shooting happened.
"Oh, it was back-to-back," said the woman who also didn't want to be identified. "Like, it really sounded like one of those fireworks."
She said when she went to go look, she saw Smith lying on the ground. Soon after, she said first responders arrived and started performing CPR.
Fort Pierce police said Smith was rushed to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
"It was very sad," said his friend. "You know, it was Mother's Day. A mother lost her son and then he was also a father, and they were daddy's girls."
She said Smith leaves behind his youngest daughter, who just graduated from voluntary pre-kindergarten, and the other from fifth grade. Both were said to be devastated by the loss of their father.
"So what are you hoping comes out of this?" asked Lopez.
"Some justice. That's it," said the friend. "Just some justice and a peace of mind for the family."
Anyone with information on the shooting is urged to contact police at (772) 979-1408 or jviciere@fppd.org.
Tips can be made to Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers at 800-273-8477.
