Teen victim of fatal Lakewood shooting was rising football star
The Federal Way High School student who died of his injuries following a Sept. 28 shooting in Lakewood has been identified.
Damoni Nelson, 17, was shot in the early morning hours and died Oct. 2 at a local hospital, according to Lakewood police and the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Nelson was a star on the football field and in the classroom, according to those who knew him.
“Damoni excelled in and outside the classroom, taking the most challenging advanced courses offered in math and science and was a standout athlete in football and track,” said Federal Way High School Principal Matt Oberst. “We’ll remember Damoni for the smile he always had on his face, pushing everyone to be their best.”
Longtime Federal Way High School football coach John Meagher said he was in shock hearing the news of Nelson’s death.
“It’s a shame,” said Meagher, now retired. “The world got a little bit worse when he passed. He was going to make the world a better place. That’s the shock we’re going through as a school community — not just the football team. All his teachers, we’re all just in shock.”
Meagher said Nelson quickly turned himself into an exceptional student at Federal Way.
“He was really setting the world on fire, from a student perspective,” Meagher said. “He was going to be a captain on the football team (as a senior in 2020-21). Leadership was just coming out of his pores. Everyone looked up to Damoni.”
Meagher said pandemic-caused remote learning is making the grieving process more difficult.
“It’s really hard,” Meagher said. “We’re not at school. We can’t deal with this face-to-face.”
Nelson was a first-team defensive selection as a nickel outside linebacker for the Eagles in his junior season. He was someone his teammates admired.
“The way he passed feels so senseless and wrong,” Meagher said. “It seems to say something bigger about our society, too. … It’s not like he had some kind of accident. It makes it more tragic because it feels like it’s preventable.”
Lakewood police say Nelson was attending a party at the Lakewood complex in the 13000 block of Pacific Highway SW when he went to the parking lot. There, Justin Coleman, 29, allegedly shot Nelson.
Police say Coleman may have mistaken Nelson for a rival gang member.
Coleman has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and other crimes associated with Nelson’s homicide.
This story was originally published October 10, 2020 at 8:00 AM.
