Large crowds turned out to a Langley church on Thursday for a celebration of life honouring Carson Crimeni.
The 14-year-old boy died of a suspected drug overdose in an incident that was filmed and shared widely on social media.
Crimeni, who would have started Grade 9 next week, is remembered in his obituary as “a fun-loving jokester who loved to make everyone laugh.”
The obituary adds: “He enjoyed cooking, playing video games and had dreams of becoming a veterinarian or chef.”
WATCH: Family of Langley teen overdose victim reacts to new details
On Thursday, Carson’s father Aron delivered an emotional eulogy, breaking down into tears several times.
“He was the kind of person that would give the shirt off his back to help a friend if they needed it. He wanted nothing more than to be a good friend to people and have that friendship returned,” his father told a packed Church in the Valley.
“In his entire 14 years, I can’t think of a single time I heard him say a negative, bad or down word about anybody ever.
“I just want to say to my son, thank you for being my best friend and my closest friend and I love you, and I will never forget, and I will always have you in my heart.”
In the wake of Crimeni’s death, the Langley School District said it is reviewing best practices around respectful behaviour, substance use and “digital citizenship.”
“Our priority at this time is really to provide support to our staff and students. Heading into the school year, we’ve actually had our critical incident response team with trained professionals working hard at what next steps will look like,” said district spokesperson Joanne Abshire.
“We’ll be briefing teachers about what happened, the ongoing police investigation and then laying out a plan for counselling support, and then that messaging will be relayed to students. We’ll also be providing on-site support for students, counselling, mental health support — that sort of thing will also be available for staff as well.”
WATCH: Father of dead Langley teen demands justice for son
Crimeni’s death and its social media aspect shocked the community — one of the reasons his family has opened the celebration of life to the public to allow people to mourn together.
The video, which now forms part of an RCMP investigation, depicts the teen agitated, sweating and in deteriorating condition in the Walnut Grove skate park on Aug. 7 as a group of older youth mocks and laughs at him.
The video suggests Crimeni was high on molly, or MDMA, but police have not confirmed what drugs were involved. A toxicology report is being conducted to determine what drugs were in Crimeni’s system.
Crimeni was later found by the nearby tennis courts barely breathing.
WATCH: Vigil held at Walnut Grove skate park for Langley teen who died of suspected drug overdose
B.C.’s civilian police watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office, is probing the conduct of two officers who were sent to look for Crimeni after someone saw a Snapchat video of the teen and made a 911 call but who left the park without finding him.
However, the boy’s family says responsibility lies with the teens who saw Crimeni in distress and did nothing to help him.
His father told Global News that he wants people to see the video of his son’s final hours so that they understand how Crimeni was treated.
A GoFundMe campaign has been started on behalf of the family, and the Langley RCMP has set up a tip line at 604-532-3398 for anyone with information on the case.
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