Da'quan Montague, 21, died in a shooting Monday
Da'quan Montague was always there when anyone needed him with a helping hand and a smile that lit up a room, friends say.
The 21-year-old Atlantic City man had been looking for a job when he was fatally shot Monday morning on North Delaware Avenue.
Montague, left, and his cousin Vinny Noel were like brothers.
"He really wanted to get his life on track," said the Rev. Odinga Maddox, coordinator of the Pleasantville-based Youth Corps of Atlantic County.
Montague was a product of the programs there, including working in the Summer Youth Program.
"He was a stand-up, honest, smart as hell person," said Malikah Cannon, who has known him since the seventh grade. "He did not deserve what happen to him."
And he was full of potential, Maddox said.
"He was always soft-spoken and very respectful," he said.
Maddox got regular texts from the young man, who was keeping Maddox updated as he followed the job leads he was given.
"I spoke to him 25 minutes before it happened," said E Varela, who knew Montague since he was a baby. "I was on my way to work and told him to apply. That I can promise him a job. And then this happens."
Montague died of a gunshot wound just after 11 a.m., according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.
His was the city's first homicide of the year.
An Atlantic City man was killed in a shooting near AC Linen in Atlantic City late Monday morning. Da'quan Montague, 21, was shot in the first block of North Delaware Avenue just after 11 a.m. The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office released his identity Monday night, after next of kin had been not
"He will be missed like crazy," said Danielle Primo.
Her husband, Vinny Noel, was Montague's cousin. But the two were more like brothers. And so she became like a sister. One he made sure to look out for.
She remembered seeing him out at Mango's in Atlantic City.
"He tried to get me to leave because he said I didn't belong there," Primo said. "I kept insisting I wanted to stay, so he started laughing like, 'OK, we'll see.'
He was "very" protective, she said, but he also loved music and to go out and have fun.
"His personality was bright," Primo said. "Every time he was around me he would always have this huge smile, cheekbone to cheekbone."
Montague loved to draw...
He also loved to draw, Primo said, sharing a sketch he did of the Atlantic City buildings with AC written as hands.
"Da'quan was a smart, loving and caring person," Cannon said. "If anyone needed help with anything, he was there to help."
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Major Crimes Unit at 609-909-7666 or Atlantic City police at 609-347-5766. Information may also be texted anonymously to tip411 (847411) beginning the text with ACPD.
Montague, left, and his cousin Vinny Noel were like brothers.
"He really wanted to get his life on track," said the Rev. Odinga Maddox, coordinator of the Pleasantville-based Youth Corps of Atlantic County.
Montague was a product of the programs there, including working in the Summer Youth Program.
"He was a stand-up, honest, smart as hell person," said Malikah Cannon, who has known him since the seventh grade. "He did not deserve what happen to him."
And he was full of potential, Maddox said.
"He was always soft-spoken and very respectful," he said.
Maddox got regular texts from the young man, who was keeping Maddox updated as he followed the job leads he was given.
"I spoke to him 25 minutes before it happened," said E Varela, who knew Montague since he was a baby. "I was on my way to work and told him to apply. That I can promise him a job. And then this happens."
Montague died of a gunshot wound just after 11 a.m., according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.
His was the city's first homicide of the year.
