The void Hauson Keeron Baltimore-Greene Jr.'s death created was audible Saturday morning.
Mournful wails, voices chorusing a heartfelt “amen” and soulful singing reverberated the walls of Lingo Memorial Church of God in Christ in Harrisburg as a crowd that lined the church’s three walls, packed the pews and spilled out into the vestibule celebrated his life and grieved his death.
About 500 people came to Baltimore-Greene's funeral. The 18-year-old from Steelton died last Saturday after he was shot outside a home on North 16th Street in Harrisburg.
That happened before the young man — called “Choppy” or “Chops” by those who knew him — could pursue his dreams of being a rapper or a professional football player in the NFL.
His short life already had touched many as evidenced by the family members, childhood friends, and classmates, teammates and staff from Steelton-Highspire High School who came to pay their respects Saturday.
Their grief mingled with frustration that they had lost a boy — who had brightened their lives and was striving to reach his potential — to senseless violence.
Michael Baltimore Sr., Baltimore-Greene’s grandfather, said his grandson was still just a “baby” growing up until last week’s shooting.
“At 18, your life is just starting,” Michael Baltimore Sr. said. “But our family has always been strong so we’ll bound together and take care of each other.”
“The hardest part is when you bury them. The next hardest part is when you have to go to the court and have all this come out all over again,” Michael Baltimore Sr. said.
As they talked about Baltimore-Greene’s life, Michael Baltimore Sr. and others said the 18-year-old boy had turned his life around and was going in a “straight and positive” direction.
Baltimore-Greene turned that corner a couple years ago after spending a few months in a juvenile center, Michael Baltimore Sr. said.
“When he got locked up the last time, I told him this ain’t the life that you want to live,” Michael Baltimore Sr. said. “He started changing his life.”
Briona Baltimore — Baltimore-Greene’s aunt but with only a month difference in age — watched as Baltimore-Greene made that change in his life.
He focused on football and basketball and would spend his free time rapping in the studio. While family had always been important to him, it became a larger focus in his life, she said.
Baltimore-Greene’s effort also made her want to be better.
“He wanted to get out of Harrisburg,” Briona Baltimore said. “He wanted to take care of his mom and dad.”
Close friend Anthony Ferguson said having this tragedy happen when Baltimore-Greene was headed down the right path is what makes all of this “so crazy.”
“Right when, you know, he started doing the right thing … this happens,” said 18-year-old Ferguson, a student at Steelton-Highspire High School who lives in Steelton.
Ijianique Simmons, Baltimore-Greene’s girlfriend of four years, added it wasn’t right to judge Baltimore-Greene for a prior mistake.
Whether he went to a juvenile center or not, he “knew what he wanted in life. And he knew he was going to get it one way or another,” Simmons said.
Remembering Choppy
Those who knew Baltimore-Greene talked about his constant smile, friendly and cheerful nature, and jokester attitude.
His face and broad grin were captured on pins with phrases like “Rest in Paradise Choppy. We Love You!” and “Smile for me now… R.I.P. Choppy.” Others wore sweatshirts and t-shirts with pictures of Baltimore-Greene.
On his blue sweater, Ferguson wore a pin with a photo of him and Baltimore-Greene with the words “Rest in Paradise Choppy” and “I Love You Brother.” The photo was taken at the end of history class days before the shooting.
Ferguson said Baltimore-Greene was more of a brother than an ordinary friend. They were close and always together.
“He cared,” said Ferguson. “If he loved you … he really cared about you, and he’d do pretty much anything for you. You know?
“No matter what it was — if you needed his help physically or just emotionally, he was always there for you,” Ferguson said. “And he just deeply cared for the ones he loved.”
And many loved him in return, said Simmons, as she broke away from the church social hall, which was filled with people eating at tables during a post-funeral repast.
Simmons wanted people to remember, “the love that he gave people; the smile that he gave people when everybody was down; (and) the motivation that he gave people.”
The 17-year-old girl from Steelton said she and Baltimore-Greene had the same dreams. She knew he wanted to try to go to the NFL. She, in turn, wanted to go to college and be a lawyer.
“We supported each other,” Simmons said. “We knew what we both wanted and we agreed on it.”
“I loved him a lot,” Simmons said. “I will always love him.”
Travis Waters, principal at Steelton-Highspire High School, said Thursday that the past week has been tough for students. Baltimore-Greene was well-liked by the student body and respectful to teachers in the school.
Waters said he was a "genuinely friendly kid" and he never saw him in a bad mood.
Other students at Steelton-Highspire High School agreed students have been hurting, but they're also trying to remain positive like Baltimore-Greene had been.
“You can tell it’s missing a piece of our family,” said Leenette Ocasio, 17, of Steelton.
Fellow student, 17-year-old Migdaliz Lozada, said Baltimore-Greene never wanted anyone to be sad.
“You can tell there’s some sadness in the air and we try to play his music as much as we can,” Lozada said. “We’ll always remember him.”