THOMASVILLE, N.C. — Childhood friends of Cody McLaggan, the Thomasville native and North Carolina State University alum killed Friday in Raleigh, are remembering his positive personality and giving spirit.
"He was a good guy," said Walker Covington, who met McLaggan in pre-school. "He was a guy you could always go to if you need something, need someone to talk to you, need to get something done."
Covington said McLaggan was his first friend and would go on family vacations with them.
"I just hope one day if I ever have a kid they can have a fraction of his personality in them or they can be somebody like him," said Covington. "But I think it’s just too rare to come across someone like that."
While Covington said they didn't stay as connected past middle school, their friendship never ended,
"He was always gonna be my best man," Covington said. "But now he can’t but it’s still kind of like hard to believe."
At Friendship Elementary School in Davison County, Braxton White met McLaggan.
"I don’t think I ever saw him being mean to anyone. He just has a face that’s naturally smiling, just a big smile. He was never anything but nice," said White.
22-year-old McLaggan was shot and killed Friday near a Food Lion along Western Boulevard in Raleigh. It happened around 7:35 p.m. near Method Road, which is by N.C. State's campus, according to Raleigh police.
"We get crime warnings a lot but we’ve never gotten a student death Wolfalert, that was scary as is," White said. "Then this morning a friend texted and said it was Cody and I didn’t believe her at first because I didn’t think he was a student anymore because he graduated."
White said after high school graduation, they went to different colleges but McLaggan later transferred to NC State. Their birthdays on the same day kept them connected.
"We have wished each other happy birthday on December 19 every year, I don’t think we’ve ever missed a year," White said. "So we talk on that day every year since the first grade."
Darrick McLean said he met Cody at Ledford Middle School in Thomasville.
"I just was in disbelief because I wouldn’t think that for Cody to be such a genuine person, something like this would happen to him," said McLean.
McLean remembers McLaggan as being energetic, loving, and caring.
"I was fairly new there and Cody was one of the first people that I actually interacted with and he became one of my closest friends during that time," McLean said. "I didn’t really feel like I was fitting in very well but then Cody came to me and said 'hey Darrick don’t worry about anything, just be yourself be you, people will love who you are.'"
McLean said the two of them went to different high schools but Cody's positive messages stuck with him over the years.
"We would speak here and there. It wasn’t very consistent like on an everyday basis but I (would) always reach out just to talk to him," said McLean on speaking with McLaggan after middle school. "It’s kind of heartbreaking because he was one of those people that would build up my confidence."
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"He would always put a smile on your face, no matter what," McLean added.
An arrest was made in McLaggan's death Saturday night. Investigators said James Christopher Anderson, 19, of Raleigh is facing charges for murder in the death of McLaggan, according to WNCN.
There is a GoFundMe set up to help McLaggan's family with funeral expenses.
"His family most definitely could really use prayer at this time," Covington said.
Officers said anyone with information about the shooting should call Raleigh Crime Stoppers at (919) 834-HELP.