Hundreds of people attended a vigil last week at Saline High School for the former standout athlete who died July 25 in a shooting outside of an Ypsilanti Township Kmart.

Chris King, 20, died shortly after the 4 p.m. shooting, which followed a fight near Washtenaw and Golfside. Four people have been charged in connection with the death.

Police have released few new details about the shooting and his family has not been available to comment.

However, as King’s friends and family now prepare for his funeral on Monday, many in the Saline community recall King as an inspirational and enthusiastic man with a huge smile and a lot of athletic ability.

The turnout at the vigil speaks to the impact King had on the community and the shock over his death, Annette Helmuth said.

When King came into the Saline football program after moving with his mother from Belleville, he recorded his motivational slogans on an old football, Saline High School head football coach Mike Glennie remembers.

“He took this football, which was a very personal and important thing to him, and he wrote in black marker all over it his personal dreams and goals, all written out on that ball,” Glennie said. “And he carried it with him outside of school.”

Despite the violence surrounding his death, those who knew him well are emphasizing King's

accomplishments during high school. More than 1,700 have joined a memorial page on Facebook.

Helmuth said her sons spent a lot of time with King. A common theme ran through testimonials at the vigil, she said.

“It always went back to (the fact) that he was a beautiful young man who always smiled, and how positive and inspiring he was.”

Assistant Saline track coach Brian Boze said King tied the school record as a sophomore with a 10.9-second dash in the 100 meters, and was voted “at least once” the most-spirited athlete on a team of 120 kids, Boze said.

“He was an all-state performer during the year that we won the state championship in 2006,” Boze said. “He ran again as a junior but not as senior because he went to alternative high school.

“He had so much desire to do well. He had this big joy for life and was extremely exuberant wherever he was.”

Boze said that when King was a junior, the coaches “tried very hard to get all his academic affairs in order and were talking with coaches at Siena Heights (University in Adrian), trying to get him out of Washtenaw County because we knew there were issues.”

Gabriel Helmuth said he last saw King a week before his death. “He was very energetic. We were just basically hanging out. Everything seemed like it was fine. He was going to start up at Washtenaw (Community College) this upcoming semester.”

Public visitation will be held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at C&H Community Home for Funerals, 411 S. Adams St, in Ypsilanti. The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at Christian Faith Church, 2885 Ellis Road in Ypsilanti Township.

Burial will take place at Knollwood Memorial Park in Canton.

Donations are being accepted to the Chris King Memorial Fund at TCF Bank is to help offset funeral expenses.