7 May 2018 | An Adventist congregation in Nashville, Tennessee is mourning the loss of one of its teen deacons that was gunned down on Monday, April 30.

Local TV station WSMV reported that 17-year-old Yudjy Cherubin of Nashville First Seventh-day Adventist Church was killed when he responded to an ad for an iPhone sale at a vacant lot.

According to law enforcement, Yudjy’s two younger siblings were in a vehicle in the vacant lot when Yudjy was robbed and killed.

The 17-year-old’s pastor described him as as having a strong work ethic and being actively involved in church. “He got part-time jobs after school, and he would just give all of his money to his mom to just help out,” said Pastor Mervis Santos. “Yudjy was baptized in this church. I remember him responding to God, wanting to serve him.”

Santos spoke of Yudjy’s mother, distraught over his death: “She said, ‘Pastor, for $500, why did they have to take his life?’ There’s no words to really say. There’s no way to explain it. You just have to put your arms around them and just cry with them.”

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