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Young men like Delonte Exum, 21, of Seat Pleasant, a member of Maryland State Trooper Wesley Brown's mentoring group, Young Men Enlightening Younger Men, stood outside Brown's Capitol Heights home Friday night recalling experiences that would be no more.

"The only word to describe Wesley was beautiful," Exum said.

Brown, 24, was shot early Friday morning while he was off duty and working a part-time security job at a Forestville restaurant. The trooper, not in uniform, was fatally wounded minutes after escorting a disorderly patron from the restaurant, according to Prince George's County Police.

A search for the gunman continued Saturday and police had identified "a person of interest," according to reports.

At a Friday night vigil, a crowd converged on a grass field outside Brown's home, forming a human chain to surround the immediate family, which huddled and buried faces wet with tears into each other's shoulders.

The trooper's death devastated Leonard Bellamy, 41, who lives on nearby Cedarleaf Avenue and watched Brown grow up. Bellamy called Brown a "homegrown" man who was never out of character.

"I'd rather look back on this like I came back from his wedding," Bellamy said. "I can't celebrate his death."

Seat Pleasant Mayor Eugene Grant said Brown, a Seat Pleasant native, was filled with compassion and that his home was a house of hope. He asked the crowd pray for Brown's family and his fiancee, Ebony Norris. He and Norris were recently engaged to be married in 2011. Norris did not speak during the vigil.

"Some of you want to retaliate but that is not what Wes would want you to do," Grant said. "That is not what he stood for. He was a man of peace."

Brown's mother, Patricia Bell, said she drew strength from the community and thanked everyone for their sympathy and for supporting Wesley's dream of helping others.

"I thank God for the years that he allowed me to have with him because he truly was a gift of God," Bell said.

YMEYM member Terrance Marshall, 18, of Seat Pleasant, said Brown had an "open door policy" and always sent encouraging phone calls and texts to check on the young men in his group.

The group, started by Brown in 2007, offers weekly trips and activities to keep neighborhood men occupied and off the streets.

Marshall credits Brown for encouraging him to seek higher education. He will start as a freshman at Washington Adventist University in Takoma Park this fall.

"If it wasn't for him pushing me saying you need to do something with your life I wouldn't be here right now," Marshall said.

Group members are expected to gather Sunday to discuss moving forward. Several members were on a trip to New York City that Brown had planned.

"You can't kill the group," Marshall said. "You can't do that. Even if Wesley is the founder."

Brown's family is asking donations on his behalf be made to Young Men Enlightening Younger Men. Checks may be made out to Brown's older brother, Sylvester Brown Jr., with YMEYM in the memo line. Donations may be sent to Maryland State Police Barrack L - Forestville, 3500 Forestville Road, District Heights, MD 20747.

E-mail Natalie McGill at nmcgill@gazette.net