OAKLAND -- Investigators are learning more about a teen-aged boy who was shot and killed while getting ready to go to a high school dance.

Oakland police say the shooting happened at about 5:30 Thursday night on Oscar Avenue in East Oakland as the teen was opening his front door. Investigators say it may have been a case of mistaken identity.

Police say 16 year-old Phillip Wright was killed when several men shot through the front door. Investigators say they think the men had the wrong home. "We're working very very hard on this. There's a lot of resources being poured into this investigation. This is just something we're not going to tolerate," Captain Paul Figueroa with the Oakland Police department said.

Police say they've stepped up patrols in the area and officers are talking to neighbors.

The East Oakland Boxing Association hosted a Thanksgiving Meal Friday Night. Wright was supposed to volunteer and help. He had been a part of the non-profit program since he was a little boy. Organizers said his death is a huge loss to the community.

"We need to stop this innocent killing of our young people who are changing this community," said Liz Kendall of the East Oakland Boxing Association. "Phillip was changing the East Oakland community."

Friends told KTVU Phillip spent a lot of time at the East Oakland Boxing Association not to box but to devote himself to helping others and improving the environment by participating in a water conservation program in this community garden.

Phillip helped to create the community garden at the East Oakland Boxing Association. Saturday he was scheduled to receive an award for his work there. Instead friends will hold a memorial for him and plant a tree in his memory.

They say the impact Phillip had on their lives will not be forgotten.