Loved ones remember slain Las Vegas teen at vigil

A week after a 17-year-old boy was shot dead inside of a Henderson home, several dozen of his loved ones gathered Friday night to honor the teen with a kind heart and unforgettable smile.

Friends and family members held candles in the blustery wind at Pebble Park, 8975 Topaz St., to remember Matthew Minkler, who was found dead June 8 in an abandoned house on the 2000 block of Cool Lilac Avenue.

Three teenage boys have been arrested in connection with his death.

But Friday night’s vigil at the Henderson park focused on the good times. It was a somber celebration of Matthew’s life, a life cut too short.

Friends and family held candles and gathered around a framed portrait of Matthew, who would have been a senior at Silverado High School this fall. Loved ones remembered his bright smile and his innate kindness.

His older sister, Desirea Roberts, 22, said the two rode the bus together to elementary school. She did so to protect him, but as Matthew grew older, he seemed to think it was his job to protect his older sisters.

His loss was the family’s and the community’s loss, she said.

“He’s always been there,” Roberts said.

Christopher King, 17, met Matthew while playing tackle football in seventh grade. He was a pretty good player.

“Not catching or throwing,” he said. “Just hitting kids.”

Yet Christopher will remember how they hung out every single day since they reconnected as friends at Silverado High School.

He will remember Matthew’s knack for looking out for others, whether it was buying people food at school or reminding Christopher to respect his mother, Wesley King.

“He was one of the few kids that I would allow to come over,” Wesley King said. “Boy, I tell ya, you have never seen such a polite, just sweet kid.”

One of the teenage boys facing charges in Matthew’s homicide told police he was shot during a modified game of Russian roulette, but Matthew’s family and friends don’t believe that explanation.

“We know this wasn’t Russian roulette,” his mother, Jamie Shanklin, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Wednesday. “My kid was shot in the chin, like they were shutting him up.”

Friday marked a week since Shanklin’s son died, and she hasn’t yet returned to work. In the time since, hundreds of people have reached out to her to let her know what Matthew meant to them.

As loved ones continued to share their favorite stories and memories of Matthew, his exhausted mother stood to the side and watched.

They spoke of first dates, camping trips, the extraordinary work he accomplished as a volunteer, what a kind student he was.

“Do you see the impact my son had on people?” Shanklin said.

Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter.