His father, Dennis White, and one of his aunt's said Rasheed was attending a pool party at a friend's house Saturday when he died. His aunt, who answered the phone at Rasheed's mother's house, said she believed the pool party was at a private home, although there was some uncertainty among the family members about which municipality the pool party was being held in. White said the incident took place in Mullica Township. His aunt said the cause of death was not immediately known, but Rasheed was reportedly under water for some time. She said the family is awaiting results of an autopsy.

White said his son, a politically active young man since his days at Atlantic City High School and now as a student at Rutgers University, was a good person.

"He was an inspiration to a lot of young people," White said.

Councilman Marty Small, who was Rasheed's running mate, said he learned of Rasheed's death at about 10 p.m. Saturday. He then went to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, mainland division, where he saw Rasheed's lifeless body.

"It hurts," Small said. "Here's a kid, 19 years old. He had a future in anything he wanted and he's gone." Small said he last spoke to Rasheed on Friday and the two spoke about Rasheed's interest in working for a law firm.

"It's sad. I always had a great relationship with Dafiq," Small said.

Rasheed graduated from Atlantic City High School in 2008, where he had served as the student representative on the Atlantic City Board of Education.

He was studying political science at Rutgers and expected to graduate in 2012.