CHELSEA — Friday evenings were for 15-year-old Jimmy Vasquez and his family to go out to dinner on Broadway in Chelsea. His favorite was Chung Wah Restaurant, where the Chelsea High School freshman loved the shrimp fried rice and boneless spare ribs.

But when Vasquez’s mother called his cellphone Friday evening to ask when he was coming home, a rescuer in an ambulance picked up.

“Your son just got shot,’’ the voice on the other line said, according to Vasquez’s sister, Yuly. “We’re headed to the hospital. You need to come here quickly.’’

Vasquez was pronounced dead at CHA Everett Hospital, his family said. He and another 15-year-old boy had been shot just after 5:30 p.m. as they stood with other friends at Shurtleff and Bellingham streets, Chelsea police Chief Brian Kyes said.

The group had been fired on by a shooter who was standing with another person and let off nine rounds from a block away at Shurtleff and Grove streets, near Chelsea City Hall, Kyes said.

Vasquez “wasn’t doing anything wrong. He was just hanging out with his buddies,’’ Kyes said. “My heart goes out to his family.’’

He said Vasquez was not a gang member and he had no knowledge of Chelsea police ever interacting with him.

Authorities said they found Vasquez in the hallway of a brick apartment building at the spot where he was struck, and they located the other victim, who had been shot in the foot, on Walnut Street.

The injured teen, who was among dozens of young people who gathered Saturday at the spot where Vasquez collapsed, said he doesn’t know how the shooting unfolded. The Globe is withholding his name at his mother’s request.

The teenagers honored Vasquez on Saturday with a makeshift memorial of candles, flowers, and a white poster board filled with tributes. A black hooded Championship sweatshirt similar to one that Vasquez liked to wear was among the mementos.

Authorities did not release Vasquez’s name, but his identity was confirmed by relatives. During much of the day, Chelsea officers watched over the spot where mourners gathered.

“He was just a good kid,’’ said his wounded friend, who received stitches and walked with crutches. “He was one of my best friends.’’

Authorities are seeking the public’s help in identifying a light silver or gray Toyota Corolla that was seen in the area at the time of the shooting and fled to East Boston, Kyes said. The vehicle was possibly made in 2010 and has a parking sticker on the back, police said.

The motive for the shooting and whether the victims knew who was responsible for it are under investigation, said Jake Wark, spokesman for the Suffolk district attorney’s office.

Wark said so far none of the evidence suggests the killing was linked to the slayings of five teenage boys who have been found dead since September 2015 in neighboring East Boston. Federal prosecutors have tied three of those homicides to the international street gang MS-13.

Because of the shooting, Chelsea police are reinstating a two-officer, nighttime walking patrol in Bellingham Square, according to a statement from City Manager Tom Ambrosino.

Vasquez had attended Chelsea Public Schools since kindergarten and had three younger siblings who are also enrolled, according to Superintendent Mary M. Bourque.

“Tragically, we have once again lost a young life due to senseless street violence,’’ she said in the statement.

She said Chelsea High will host drop-in support services Monday from 10 a.m. to noon.

Yuly Vasquez said her brother struggled but was getting help from probation officers and others. He recently tried to get a job at Market Basket and helped at the house, she said.

“I think the people he was hanging out with were probably in a gang,’’ said Yuly Vasquez, 17, who visited the memorial with her mother and some of her other siblings. “Wrong place, wrong time. That’s what they’re saying right now.’’

She said her mother, who speaks Spanish, broke down when the doctor told her that he had died.

“My mom was hysterically weeping and on her knees,’’ she said. “She was pulling on one of the translator’s sleeves.’’

Ashley Noriega, 16, said at the scene Saturday that Vasquez was like family to his friends. She wrote a message on the poster board in his honor.

“He was a strong, bright kid,’’ she said. “He was always there for his family.’’

Lewie Carlos, 17, said he met Vasquez in middle school. He said he didn’t believe the news when he was told about the fatal shooting.

“Everybody started telling me that Jimmy got shot. I just broke down,’’ Carlos said. “I was just with him the other day. He was like a little brother.’’

Laura Crimaldi can be reached at laura.crimaldi@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @lauracrimaldi.