Teenager mourns loss of best friend who died in shooting

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Friends and family are mourning the loss of 16-year-old Davondre Thompson-Baugher, who died at the hospital last night after being shot Friday.

The shooting happened Friday morning at a home on East Linwood Street in east-central Springfield.

Jeremy Herring is Davondre's best friend, who also goes by DJ. Herring is originally from North Carolina, but when he met DJ at Glendale High School, they had an instant connection.

“We had a good, close relationship,” Herring said.

Herring will always remember the kindness Davondre showed him when he transferred to Glendale High School last year.

“He would randomly call me and you know, be like you man, are you okay? Or do you want to participate in the game? I mean, we just clicked,” Herring said. “He would understand what I’m saying. I understood what he was saying.

But their friendship went much deeper than just phone calls and gaming sessions; they both intended to pursue college together.

“We're going to make it, we're going to go to high school, go to college. Get great jobs, get decent cars,” Herring said.

Herring tells me that Davondre lost one of his close friends in recent years but he tried to make the best of bad situations.

“He had to call his friends and tell them what happened because they didn't know and other people who were really close to him,” Herring said. “I tried to be there for him and as the weeks went by and stuff like that, it just went on and on.”

Herring tells me that one of the things he will miss most about Davondre is his laugh.

“One day I was walking down the hall and I was like where is DJ, where did he go? said Herring. “I haven’t heard his laugh in a minute, and a lot of teachers and students loved him for who he was.”