The 17-year-old who was shot and killed during a violent altercation with a former police officer last month in a quiet Aurora neighborhood was remembered Sunday by dozens of friends, neighbors and family during a vigil.

Pictures of Peyton Blitstein, curly-haired and smiling, were displayed on easels next to a wreath of white carnations and red roses. Most attendees wore sweatshirts sporting the words “Long Live Peyton,” while others shivered through the outdoor service in coats and blankets.

An American flag whipped around in the wind as friends stood in sadness and disbelief, remembering the “pretty boy” who wanted to fly fighter jets.

“That was my brother, the other half of me,” said Warren Langdon. “Love your friends before they’re gone.”

“It’s crazy that he died. Such a weird feeling. I keep wanting to call him,” said Houston Renell. “And then I remember I can’t.”

Taco Terrones, Peyton Blitstein’s best friend, said: “No peace until there’s justice for Peyton. What happened ain’t right.”

Peyton Blitstein was in a car with four other teenagers on Nov. 24 when an ex-police officer, upset that the vehicle was going too fast in his neighborhood, stopped them.

“The kids who were with Peyton said he told the guy to drive off. He told him to leave,” Todd Blitstein, Peyton’s father, told The Denver Gazette.

The ex-officer, Adam Holen, worked for the Greenwood Village Police Department for just over five years before resigning Nov. 1.

The argument over careless driving escalated to gunshots at around 10:30 p.m. The incident was caught on a doorbell video and turned in as evidence to the Aurora Police Department. It showed that Holen and Peyton Blitstein fired the shots.

Detectives spent last week investigating who was the aggressor in the incident. Though unconfirmed, witnesses say Peyton Blitstein pushed a friend out of the way of the bullets and fell to the ground, where a neighbor attempted to save his life by performing CPR. The teen later died.

Holen, 36, was also injured in the incident and was treated at Parker Adventist Hospital. Police have made no arrests in connection with the incident.

When the gunfire broke out, Holen, Peyton Blitstein and another teenager were standing in the street. According to Todd Blitstein, that teen was called in for a second interview with Aurora police last week. Todd Blitstein said in an earlier interview that he didn’t know his son had a gun.

The 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office will decide whether to file charges.

The Arapahoe County coroner has ruled Peyton Blitstein’s death a homicide.

Attempts to reach Holen have been unsuccessful. Through confusion and sorrow, Sunday was a day for remembering the teen who loved In-N- Out Burger and picked tomatoes out of his salad.

Lori Markulik, Peyton’s aunt, recalled how doctors thought the boy was a girl before he was born. She laughed as she told the story about how she bought pink frilly clothes and blankets for the coming infant. “And then Todd came out of the delivery room saying, ‘Holy crap, it’s a boy!’”

Marc Blitstein, Peyton’s grandfather, recalled the many hours the two spent together on road trips to California, where the boy participated in the Sea Cadets at Camp Pendleton. Marc Blitstein reached inside his sweatshirt, pulled out his grandson’s dog tags, and read from them.

“These dog tags say, ‘One day I will earn my wings,’” Marc Blitstein said. “Peyton has earned his wings.”