From The Press of Atlantic City — Dafiq Rasheed, 19, who ran as a City Council candidate in the city’s June democratic primary, has died.

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.

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UPDATED 06/29/09 @ 6 PM: According to police, just before 8 o’clock Saturday night Dafiq died in an apparent drowning. Police say it appeared that while attending a pool party at this home along Old Egg Harbor Road in the Elwood section of Mullica Township, he jumped into the pool where he was found just moments later unresponsive underwater. Police say others attending the party pulled him from the water and began performing CPR. He later died after being taken to an area hospital.

UPDATED 06/30/09 @ 1 AM: Rasheed, 19, died Saturday at a pool party in Mullica Township. Police are tentatively ruling it an “accidental drowning,” but are awaiting the results of an autopsy before making an official determination. John Thompson, a detective sergeant with the Mullica Township Police Department, expected the autopsy to be completed Monday, but police offered no further information before press time. Thompson said witnesses remember Rasheed jumping into the pool Saturday and starting to flail his arms and call for help shortly after. “He realized he was in trouble,” Thompson said. Others at the home tried to rescue Rasheed but were not good swimmers, Thompson said. Rasheed’s father, Dennis White, said Monday that Rasheed “wasn’t a swimmer” and likely struggled to stay afloat.