Prayers for Peter Romano, and a plea to his killer: 'You know who you are...do what's right'

They arrived with balloons, flowers, stuffed animals and tears.

More than 200 people gathered at a parking lot Thursday night where Peter Romano, a 14-year-old Bensalem middle school student was shot and killed on Halloween night, one of three teens struck by a hail of bullets fired by a still unknown suspect.

Hours later, police would announce a person of interest in the case was dead of a self-inflected gunshot wound. Sean Hughes, 19, of Morrisville, took his own life as police tried to stop him in Ohio, police said.

But, Thursday night was about grieving and celebrating Romano's life cut short too soon, those who gathered said.

Some mourners were adults like Louann McLaughlin. The Bristol Township resident came to represent her 15-year-old grandson, who she said was at the shopping center when the shooting happened.

He told her when the gunfire started, he jumped over a fence and played dead, McLaughlin said.

UPDATE: Suspect in Bensalem shooting dead of self-inflicted gunshot: police

Bensalem mourns loss of 14-year-old Community mourns loss of Peter Romano, teen boy killed in Bensalem Halloween shooting

But most who gathered on a bitter November night were young faces etched with raw grief.

Some teens walked 10 miles to the shopping center on Bristol Pike in Bensalem for the candlelight vigil. The two teens who survived the shooting attended in wheelchairs.

They came to honor a boy who everyone described as funny, respectful, sweet, happy-go-lucky, really, really nice guy from a good family. People often confused Peter and his twin brother, Nicky, who was at the vigil with the boys' parents Thursday night.

“He always made people laugh,” said Savannah Marshall, 14, a Bensalem High School freshman.

“He was a really good person to be around,” added Ava Chazin, 14, also a Bensalem freshman.

“I liked everything. I liked everything about him,” Alessia Mariano said.

Isabella Wisely,17, said that she was close friends with Peter for years, though recently she hadn’t seen him as much as before. Her mother stopped letting her hang out at the shopping center where the shooting happened, which was described as a popular teen gathering spot.

“He was always trying to make people happy. He was such a good-hearted kid,” Isabella said. “I feel like I knew him forever.”

Krista Wiseley called Peter a boy with a great personality who was loved by all.

“I feel so bad for the family. He was a great kid,” Wiseley said. “All for a senseless act. I don’t understand it. The sad thing is explaining to kids this is not normal.”

Peter’s older sister, Maria Romano, described her brother as a “pure soul” with a “unique sparkle in his eyes” and “tremendous ambitions and objectives in life.”

“What happened to my younger brother was not only heartbreaking, but it had such an impact on everybody’s life,” she said. ”This is something nobody will forget or get over. This will be with us forever.”

She also had a message to the person that killed her little brother before news of Hughes was shared by police.

“You know who you are. I know you are paying attention. Do what’s right and provide my angel and our family with the justice we deserve.”

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This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Vigil brings out hundreds for Bensalem shooting victim Peter Romano