Stunned by the sheer number of friends that came to share their best memories of Bill, his parents thanked the crowd.
"I just want to say I love you all and I appreciate what you have done for him," said Bill's father William Bethel Sr.
Bill was shot in the pelvis on South Street Easter Sunday following a dispute between two groups of teens, police said. He died two days later.
"They didn't just shoot Bill, but they really shot all of us," said friend Izabella Vidal. "Because we're all here emotional. Really upset."
A sophomore at Boys Latin of Philadelphia Charter School, Bill was an honor roll student, who many describe as a leader in the classroom an on the school's football and basketball teams.
"Everybody knew him. He was a nice guy," said friend Lawrence Pickney. "He never did anything, never bothered anybody."
As police search for the killer, his parents choose to focus on how their son lived rather than how he died.
"He was so loved, so he gave love to everyone else," said Bill's mother Williesha Bethel. "That's all he had to offer was more love to everyone he came across."
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