TOLEDO, Ohio — "Inspiring, vibrant, a beautiful soul."
That's how a Facebook post from the Maritime Academy of Toledo described 18-year-old student, Irin Anderson, only hours after learning about his death following a shooting in west Toledo.
Toledo police said there have been no arrests made in Anderson's death, but on Saturday detectives told WTOL 11 they did speak to a "person of interest."
Anderson is now the second Maritime Academy student to be killed in the past year, following Josiah Gill in November 2023.
On Monday, WTOL 11 sat down with people from the school who said the building will feel very different without him.
"He was probably one of the most well-known students in this building," Aaron Lusk, superintendent at Maritime Academy said. "And if I ever needed anyone to dazzle a visitor, he was always the first person I chose."
If you ask Lusk, no one represented the school better than Anderson.
Lusk said he was always impressed with Anderson's drive and desire to improve everything around him.
"His main goal was to make Maritime a better school, the best school ever," Lusk said. "He and I would always say that."
It's something his teachers witnessed all the time. Ninth and tenth grade cohort lead Lilly Kilpatrick remembers Anderson's frequent displays of selflessness, especially for younger students.
"Irin would mentor our younger students. He helped my first year here with some difficult sixth graders he had," Kilpatrick said.
And they can't help but mention his creativity.
Kilpatrick remembered Anderson showing her his fashion designs in between classes, and Lusk said Anderson even teamed up with 107.3 "The Juice" to make radio ads for the school.
"He would get on the radio and talk about teachers and students and kind of recognize people," Lusk said.
Ads so well made, they netted him an award at the American Advertising Federation.
A bright future, but then on Saturday afternoon, Anderson was found shot in the stomach behind a home on Brodywood Drive. He died less than two hours later, leaving the people who admired him grasping for answers.
"I was stunned because I didn't want to believe it was him," Kilpatrick said.
"When something like this happens, it's like losing a family member without your permission," Lusk said.
The staff said Anderson's legacy will live on in the lives of all the people he mentored and befriended, and they'll pay tribute to that with a candlelight vigil at the school Friday at 7:30 p.m. Anyone who knew Irin is invited to attend.