'He made a huge impact:' family remembers Westerville teen killed in pool shooting

Before he was shot and killed at an unauthorized pool party last Friday on Columbus' Northeast Side, family and friends say 18-year-old Taye Green was a selfless and caring young man about to enter his senior year at Westerville South High School.

“If you needed help with something, he was there,” said Jay Coker, his best friend.

The family and friends of Green are remembering him as a loving family member and a well-regarded member of the Westerville South student body.

“He was a well-loved person — it’s just shocking," said Carla Green of Taye, whom she adopted.

Westerville senior shot and killed at pool party

Columbus police responded shortly after 8 p.m. Friday to reports of a shooting on the 5200 block of Pine Lake Drive in the Lake Forest Apartments complex off Sunbury Road, just north of Route 161. Responding officers found Green suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.

Medics took Green to a local hospital, where he died about 1:30 a.m.

The shooting appears to have resulted from a disturbance at what police are calling "an impromptu pool party" at the complex pool next to the management office and community center by a large group of teens who did not live at that location.

Carla Green, 54, said her son had no enemies and always sought to de-escalate conflict. She said she and others believed he was trying to stop fighting when it escalated to gunfire.

Taye was "in the wrong place at the wrong time," she said, and that it was jarring that something like this would happen close to Westerville.

Coker, 16, a rising junior at Westerville South, had seen the information about the pool party, but decided against attending.

"I had this weird feeling in my stomach that something wouldn't go right," Coker said.

Columbus police say they arrested Andrez Kelley, 16, and D'Angelo Harris, 15, on suspicion of aggravated murder and aggravated robbery.

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At Kelley's preliminary hearing Monday, his attorney waived his appearance. Franklin County Juvenile Court Magistrate Greta Huna ordered Kelley held at the Franklin County Juvenile Intervention Center pending a probable cause hearing on July 20.

At that time, a judge will bind Kelley over to adult court since 16 and 17-year-olds charged with delinquency murder must be bound over under the law.

Huna also ordered Harris held at the juvenile detention center until his probable cause hearing, also set for July 20. Harris' attorney, Joseph Landusky III, said he believes "there will not be probable cause" to have Harris bound over to adult court.

Landusky also alleged that Green had a firearm. Carla Green told The Dispatch on Monday that was the first time she had heard such an allegation.

Columbus police declined to comment further on the homicide investigation on Monday.

Carla Green said she wants justice for her adopted son and wants those responsible to be charged as adults.

“These children wanted to be adults and took a life," she said of the juvenile homicide suspects. "I want them to be charged as the adults they thought they were.”

Family, friends say Taye was ambitious, friendly to all

Carla Green said that in addition to being a student at Westerville City Schools, Taye Green also took a car collision and repair course at the Delaware Area Career Center. She said he had ambitions of starting a family, having kids and moving to Florida.

“He understood family structure, if I taught him anything I’m glad that he understood the importance of family structure,” Carla Green said.

Carla Green adopted Taye and two of his siblings. In a 2021 video published by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, Taye Green, who was 15 when he was adopted, reflected on what it meant to him.

"I can focus on being a kid and finish high school and college," he said. "I was in foster care for five years, and now I have a family that loves me."

Their biological mother, Tiana Turner, 37, who lives in Las Vegas, will be staying with Carla Green to provide support and attention to Taye's brothers, one of whom is about to enter Westerville South High School.

“Now, I have to pull the good in this thing and find the good out of it,” Carla Green said. “We’re not going to let them fall through the cracks.”

Coker said that Green loved basketball, was always kind to underclassmen at Westerville South, and would buy meals for students who didn't have food. Hoker said Green was also good at helping people who struggled with anxiety.

“He was always really good at calming me down,” Coker said.

"He made a huge impact in such a short period of time," Carla Green said.

In an email to parents, Westerville South Principal Mike Hinze said that the district is making mental health resources to students who are affected by his loss.

Dispatch reporter Jordan Laird contributed to this report.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Mother of Westerville teen killed in shooting: 'He had a huge impact.'