“He’d give you the clothes off his back if you were in need,” friend and neuroscience sophomore Herve Nonga said.

Nolff died early Saturday morning in Sparrow Hospital in Lansing from several gunshot wounds he sustained Friday night.

He was shot in his apartment in the 200 block of Cedar Street around 8:45 p.m.

The incident is still under investigation by the East Lansing Police Department, and the killer still is at large.

Another student, a 20-year-old male from Grand Haven, was shot and sustained injuries in the incident as well.

He was treated for his injuries at the hospital and was later released. He declined comment when contacted by The State News.

Nolff valued his family immensely, friends say.

He had a large one that included a younger brother who looked up to him as a role model.

When it came to his circle of friends, Nolff made each person feel like family as well.

“He was like a brother to me,” said Nonga, who lived with him in Butterfield Hall last year. “We had a bond that I felt like couldn’t be broken.

“I thought we were going to take this friendship into the future. You always expect him to be there.”

Nolff’s family members were not immediately available for comment after several requests from The State News for interviews.

Friends remember him as someone who had clear goals and worked hard to achieve them.

“He was really hardworking,” friend and finance sophomore Adam Boudjemai said. “He never let anything get in the way of his goals.”

Boudjemai, who lived a few doors down from Nolff in Butterfield Hall during their freshman year, fondly remembered the times he spent hanging out with him.

He said Nolff enjoyed basketball, recalling that the two often watched games together.

“What saddens me the most is that my time with him is over,” he said. “We were both really into basketball, and I’ll never get to watch another basketball game with him.”

Boudjemai said Nolff’s overall positive attitude about life is what stood out to him.

“Nothing could get him mad,” Boudjemai said. “He was always optimistic about things. He had a way of lightening everyone’s spirits.”

Reactions to Nolff’s death have come from all corners of the MSU community on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Others took to the streets to show their solidarity and support for Nolff’s family and friends as they grieved.

On Sunday afternoon, members of the Black Student Alliance held a candlelight vigil to celebrate Nolff’s life and to attempt to create a feeling of peace and closure in the area where he was shot.

Education freshman Calvon Sheridan, a friend of Nolff’s who attended the vigil, said he never imagined something so tragic could happen to Nolff, who he said an optimistic person.

“Dom was a very good person,” Sheridan said.“He was always happy. I would never wish death on anybody.

“I wish it didn’t have to be him.”

For many of Nolff’s friends, his legacy will live on in the pictures and words he left behind.

But his life also will be a guiding path for how those who knew Nolff live their lives going forward.

“If people didn’t know D.J., I would say to use his life as a lesson,” Boudjemai said. “Keep your head up, and don’t let the little things worry you.”

Nolff, who was from Middleville, Mich., graduated from Thornapple Kellogg High School in 2012.

Funeral arrangements have not yet been finalized, according to friends.