VIDEO: Vigil Held For MSU Student

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI)- This evening the Starkville and Mississippi State University community held a prayer vigil in honor of Joseph Tillman.

Early Sunday morning at 1:50 a.m., Starkville Police responded to reports of gunshots in the Cotton District.

Twenty-one year old, Joseph Tillman, of Schlater, Mississippi was fatally shot outside of Stagger Inn on Maxwell Street, after being the victim of an attempted robbery.

“This is an absolute tragedy… A heinous act of violence against a young person for no apparent reason, perpetrated by, apparently, people who have been arrested form an out of town that came with the sole purpose of committing a crime,” said Alderman of Ward Four, City of Starkville, Jason Walker.

Tillman was a senior at Mississippi State, majoring in marketing.

He was a member of the Phi Delta Fraternity.

Friends would not go on camera, but some of the things they mentioned about Tillman was that he had a loving heart, an inspirational personality, and a big smile.

During the candlelight vigil, some of his closest friends spoke to a crowd that poured out of the building.

They read from scripture and told stories gave those who attended a better understanding of who Tillman was as a person, and it was nothing but positive.

Close friends event went back to where Tillman was killed, making a memorial that featured several of his favorite things, as well as loving comments on a cross.

The man who passed away last night may be gone, but his memory is living on with friends and family.