Tanisha Stanley last spoke with her son Saturday night.
Eddie Stanley, 15, had been in New York City with his Albany AAU basketball team for a tournament. The team had lost, she recalled her son saying. She didn’t expect him back, though, until Sunday.
“I talked to him and he gave me the impression that he was staying in the city,” his mother told The Daily Gazette Tuesday afternoon at the family’s home, “but he was actually on his way back up here.”
Shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday, she received a call from her son’s girlfriend. Eddie had been shot.
Stanley, a promising young basketball player, had made his way to a party at 730 Bridge St. There, police said, he was shot five times. He was pronounced dead a short time later.
Family have indicated that Stanley was there to meet or help a friend, but exactly what happened at the party remained under investigation Tuesday.
Neighbors reported that the party at 730 Bridge St. had gotten out of control. One neighbor said he heard that Stanley was helping as a disc jockey for the event, which he believed was a girl’s birthday party. He said someone accused a partygoer of stealing car keys. A fight then erupted, which escalated to gunfire, he said.
As many as 10 investigators have worked the case since Sunday morning’s shooting, Public Safety Commissioner Wayne Bennett said Tuesday. Authorities have been working to identify and then interview the estimated 40 people who attended the party.
Bennett said police are asking people who were at the party to come forward and provide information.
“People have to consider the moral obligation on behalf of Eddie. It is the right thing to do,” he said.
Bennett said police have not yet identified a person of interest in connection with the homicide.
Albany Pastor Charlie Muller on Tuesday put up a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Stanley’s killer. Muller is also advocating expanding his Albany gun buyback program to Schenectady.
Stanley’s mother urged anyone who knows something and hasn’t spoken with police to do so.
“He’s a monster,” Tanisha Stanley said of the killer. “He needs to be put away because he shot and killed a 15-year-old boy — who didn’t deserve it, who was going places in his life — for no reason.”
A sophomore at Schenectady High School, Stanley played basketball this past season on the varsity squad. He was also a member of the Albany City Rocks, who played in the tournament this past weekend in the Bronx. The Rocks bill themselves as upstate’s only Nike-sponsored travel team.
Stanley’s mother said her son had been playing basketball since the age of 6.
“He loved everything about it; that was his sport,” Tanisha Stanley said. “He didn’t care about nothing else but basketball.”
Eddie’s favorite player was the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, whom Eddie believed was the greatest. His mom believed the greatest was actually Michael Jordan. It was a discussion that often led to good-natured arguing and bickering between the two, his mother said.
Now, Tanisha Stanley has been left to plan her son’s funeral.
Stanley was also the son of Eddie Morgan. He had two younger brothers, Tyquon Morgan, 10, and Molik Morgan, 2.
Services are scheduled for Friday at Refreshing Springs Church of God In Christ, 327 Georgetta Dix Plaza. Calling hours are scheduled at the church from 4 to 6 p.m., with services to follow.
Two funds have been established to help the family cover funeral expenses. Eddie Stanley Memorial funds have been established at Citizens Bank and SEFCU, family said, and donations can be made at any branch.
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