HIGH POINT, N.C. -- Family and friends are remembering the Guilford County man who was killed in an attempted robbery Wednesday. Vann Yates, 57, and another man were working in Yates' backyard when two men tried to rob them.
Yates was fatally shot. As authorities continue to search for his killers, WFMY News 2's Patrick Wright spoke with Yates' close friends who are looking for justice.
"I'm having a hard time imagining this world – my world – without Vann Yates in it," said Joe Bostic.
Joe Bostic has been friends with Vann Yates for more than fifty years. They went to school together - from elementary school to college. At Clemson University, Bostic played football and Yates was an athletic trainer.
"He was one of my very, very closest friends."
The news that his closest friend was shot while sitting on his back porch has been hard to comprehend. "I just could not imagine Vann Yates being shot and killed. It just would not register to me," said Bostic.
He added, "This can't continue. We can't have a community where people walk in somebody's back yard and you get shot and killed. I still am having a hard time wrapping my arms around it. This just makes no sense to me."
Bostic and his wife, Jami, are working on starting a scholarship fund at Clemson University to honor Yates. They've also started a Facebook page where friends can share memories and pictures of Yates.
"I think it's our duty to honor his memory and to hopefully get these people off the streets so another family and set of friends isn't grieving and hurting the way we are," said Jami Bostic.
Other Stories to Click
