As Alaska police continue to investigate the fatal shooting of a former Hawaii resident at a South Anchorage gas station, friends and family of the 19-year-old man are mourning the loss of someone they say believed strongly in helping others.

According to police, Brandon Merritt, a graduate of Campbell High School, was riding in a white sedan driven by another man at about 9 p.m. Wednesday when he got into a confrontation with 23-year-old Andrew Robertson-Goughnour.

“As the white sedan was getting ready to leave the parking lot, Goughnour (who was pumping gas at the gas station) and Merritt got into a verbal altercation,” said police spokeswoman Jennifer Castro in a statement released Thursday. “Merritt got out of the vehicle, and as he was approaching Goughnour, Goughnour produced a firearm and shot Merritt once.”

Merritt was shot in the chest with a .45-caliber handgun and died at the scene.

Castro told the Alaska Dispatch News that the two men had no prior acquaintance and that the incident had no apparent connection to drugs or gangs. Robertson-Goughnour claimed that Merritt was “staring him down” prior to the incident, Castro said.

Robertson-Goughnour was arrested at the scene and charged the next day with first- and second-degree murder. His bail was set at $100,000.

“Brandon was a wise soul,” said his sister, Briana Eugene, on Friday. “He always made anyone feel better no matter the situation. He always cared for the homeless here (in Hawaii) — gave all his money and clothes.”

Merritt grew up in Anchorage but moved to Hawaii with his family in 2006. Eugene said he had moved back to Anchorage less than a month ago to “better himself.” There he reconnected with old friends, got a job and was saving up to buy a car.

Childhood friend Tristan Diaz recalled Merritt as a big-brother figure who was “always positive and always kind.”

“My mom enjoyed his company, and my brother was his best friend,” Diaz said. “He was always a productive kid. Sitting in the house was never his thing. Getting out and about on a beautiful day like today would definitely be (his) thing.”

Diaz said Merritt taught him how to roller-skate, and their group of friends would spend every Friday at the Royal Roller Rink. Merritt also taught Diaz to defend himself “without violence.”

Diaz said he worries that his friend’s alleged killer could invoke self-defense as a justification for the shooting. Alaska is among 23 states that have adopted some version of a “stand your ground” law, which removes the legal obligation of a person to back off before using force in self-defense.

An eyewitness to the shooting told Anchorage NBC affiliate KTUU that the two men were standing approximately 20 to 30 feet apart when Robertson-Goughnour shot Merritt.

“I don’t think it’s fair that the man just took his life with no hesitation,” Diaz said. “It’s not right at all,and the fact that there was space between them, he could’ve easily left the situation. There was no need to kill him the way he did. If they allow him to plead self-defense, that won’t be justice whatsoever. No justice, no peace.”