'A genuine spirit': Battle Creek Central community remembers teen killed in shooting

Christopher Williams will perhaps best be remembered for his infectious smile.

The 17-year-old formed connections with classmates that went well beyond mere assignments inside the walls of Battle Creek Central High School, and was known to check in on his peers, even those he wasn't particularly close to.

His kind and welcoming nature make his sudden death in a Monday shooting all the more difficult to process, according to Virginia Platek, who taught Williams during his freshman year at Battle Creek Central.

Shortly after learning of his death Tuesday, Platek rediscovered an essay Williams had written for her class as a freshman. In it, he wrote: "Family doesn’t always mean they are related to you."

"I think that that sums up Chris the most," said Platek, who teaches English. "I think that’s why it’s hit everybody so much harder, because he was such a genuine spirit."

Battle Creek Police were called to Arbor Pointe Townhomes — off Jackson Street West, near North 20th Street — about 11:55 p.m. Monday for reports of multiple gunshots in the area.

Police found Williams, who had been shot. He was taken to Bronson Battle Creek Hospital and later died, police said.

Battle Creek Detective Sgt. Chris Rabbitt said Williams was shot during an altercation outside an apartment at the complex, adding police have reason to believe Williams and the suspected shooter knew of each other.

Rabbitt declined to comment further as the investigation remains ongoing. Police haven't announced any arrests in the case.

Williams graduated from Battle Creek Central in June and had been a senior leader on the Bearcat football team, playing on the offensive line and earning honorable mention honors on the 2021 Battle Creek Enquirer All-City Football Team.

Bearcat Head Coach Lorin Granger said Williams was a "jokester" who "just always had a smile on his face."

"Even when you didn’t want him to be smiling he’d have a grin on his face," the football coach said. "(He was) just a happy-go-lucky kind of kid, just kind of lit up the room when he walked in."

Losing a player to gun violence is a reality Granger has been forced to grapple with "all too many times" during his more than two decades with the Bearcat program. He's getting tired of it, noting "just one is too many."

"I hope they stop putting guns into the hands of (expletive) kids because this is a huge problem," Granger said. "We’ve got teenage kids shooting guns in our community. How? Where do they get them? That’s an adult problem in our community and we need to change it, and then we need to start talking to our kids about how to resolve conflict without using violence.

"Even if they’re not shooting guns, I’m tired of all the fighting," he continued. "We have to teach our kids to do better or we’re not going to have any kids."

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call police at 269-966-3322 or 269-781-0911. They can also submit information anonymously through Silent Observer at 269-964-3888.

Contact reporter Greyson Steele at gsteele@battlecreekenquirer.com or 269-501-5661. Follow him on Twitter: G_SteeleBC

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Battle Creek Central grad Christopher Williams, 17, killed in shooting Monday