More than 400 people attended a memorial service in the Syracuse University (SU) for the Bulgarian student Simeon Popov, 27, who was shot and killed during a robbery attempt on January 20, the Syracuse daily The Post-Standard reported. A framed photograph of Popov, his trombone and a soccer ball were displayed in the front of the auditorium on a small table covered with a white tablecloth.

A music stand next to it held a large photograph of Popov and his best friend, Lubomir Kalaptchiev. The two had known each other since they were 4 years old and grew up together in Sofia, Bulgaria.

People wept throughout the service. But even through the tears, there was some laughter. People talked about Popov as the man who could make people smile with a funny face.

He could fall in love over dinner, but decide the love affair was over by the time dessert arrived. " 'Mr. Harris, I'm in love.' If I heard that once, I heard it a million times," said SU music professor and Popov's trombone instructor Bill Harris, prompting laughter throughout the auditorium. Popov's parents had planned to attend his graduation in May, and hadn't yet visited their son in Syracuse. Harris will travel to Bulgaria with Kalaptchiev next week and will meet Popov's parents for the first time.

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