Vigil held for slain Gadsden teen

A group of more than 150 Gadsden City High students gathered near the spot where Anthony Hale Jr. was gunned down last weekend to remember the life of their fallen classmate.

The rally got underway at dusk on Broad Street in Downtown gadsden, in the parking lot across from Club Status at the corner of Seventh Street and Broad Street.

With candles and balloons, hoisting cellphones to capture the moment, the group of students said prayers and chanted "Antworld" to remember the 17-year-old, who died Monday in a Birmingham hospital. Police said he was an innocent bystander in the incident.

Hale was one of four people shot outside ClubStatus on Broad Street early Saturday morning, when a fight inside the club spilled out into the street.

Three people, including two juveniles, all from Anniston were arrested Monday in connection with the incident and charged with murder. Witnesses said the group began firing into the crowd as it left the club in response to taunting.

Speakers told the students that they needed "to love each other," and to learn "to walk away" so that Hale's death would not have been in vain.