Several students are mourning the loss of one of their closest friends who died in a Saturday shooting that investigators are calling a case of domestic violence.

Arturo Sauceda was a well-known athlete at Santa Rosa High School who will be remembered by many.

“Arturo was like a brother to us — to all of us,” friend and classmate Antonio Saldana Jr. said. “He was more than just a classmate, more than just a teammate."

Saldana and Gerardo Rios played football with Sauceda, and said his kindness was shown on and off the field.

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“He was the best thing that ever happened to us,” Rios said. “He was gone too soon."

Sauceda’s death is impacting the community around him, with many saying his positivity is one of the things he'll be remembered for most.

“He made us all smile every day," Saldana Jr. recalled. “He always laughed in every class, classroom; he was never sad, never mad. The only time he was mad was when he lost a game."

Sauceda’s friends say he was the kind of person that was always there for others, and always pushed to be better.

"He was a good friend, and this year was going to be the best year for him because it was his last year," Rios said.

Sauceda was going into his senior year as a starting lineman for the Santa Rosa High School football team. His coach, Joe Marichalar, said the teen will hold a special place in his heart.

“When this happened, we were just heartbroken,” Marichalar said. “Nothing was too difficult for him. He would always look at the brighter side of things, and he would just come in with a smile and everything was going to be OK. And that's how Art approached life, school and athletics."

Sauceda’s jersey number, 68, will live on this season through those who knew him.

“We were going to play this season together, now we're going to play for him,” Saldana Jr. said. “Definitely not how we wanted it to go, but it's how it's going to have to go."

Santa Rosa ISD is offering counseling for any students who need it.

Sauceda’s stepfather — Jose Villalobos — was arrested and charged in connection to the shooting that also critically injured Sauceda’s mother.

Villalobos was charged with murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and remains jailed on a $1.5 million bond.