Mount Vernon High School held a community outreach summit Wednesday, one day after a 16-year-old student was stabbed to death near his home.

Douglas Williams was discovered staggering and bleeding on North Eighth Avenue by two police officers on patrol Tuesday morning. The slain teenager was due in court this week on a robbery charge. It is unclear whether Williams' murder was related to drug or gang activity.

Brother Arthur Muhammad, a presenter at the school summit, mentored Williams. He says he wants young men to seek out positive role models and alternatives to violence.

"We have to change our attitude toward anger because nobody deserves to lose their life that viciously," Muhammad says.

The summit was sponsored by the nonprofit group Community that Cares. School officials say they would like to hold similar events several times a year to offer students guidance.

"It's not a video game, and that's the message we're trying to get out to them," says Mount Vernon Police Commissioner David Chong. "Their life is precious."