Elijah Dewitt Death and Obituary, Vigil held for Jefferson teen shot and killed at Sugarloaf Mills Mall

The parents of the star high school football player murdered near an Atlanta mall last week paid tribute to their son. Elijah DeWitt’s mother said he was meeting his girlfriend Wednesday night when a botched robbery took his life.

Dawn DeWitt wants her son Elijah to be remembered for who he is, not for what happened to him. “I want people to remember him as a tough competitor with a big heart,” she said.

Elijah is 18 years old. His life ended last week when he was shot near Dave and Buster at Sugarloaf Mills Mall in Lawrenceville. “Absolutely the worst day of my life,” Dawn said. Elijah was the star catcher at Jefferson High School. He has big dreams of playing college ball.

“His life came to a complete stop within seconds,” Dawn said. Police charged two teenagers with killing him. Kemare Bryan, 18, and Chandler Richardson, 19, were arrested in South Carolina. They will return to Gwinnett County on Monday. Investigators said the suspect may have known Elijah. His father, Craig DeWitt, said the family had forgiven them.

“Forgiveness is for the forgiver. We don’t want this family to be filled with hatred,” he said. Elijah’s four-year-old girlfriend said it was exactly what he wanted.

“He said life goes on, which is sad, but you have to stand up and you can’t be mad at anyone,” Bailey Redlin said. About a hundred friends, family and community members came out for a candlelight vigil on Sunday night. Stories were shared as people gathered to mourn the loss.

“If you can have a tragedy like this anywhere, I’d say this is it, come here and experience it because it’s just an amazing community,” Craig said. The visit will begin at Jefferson Chapel at 6 p.m. until 10pm on Tuesday. The church is located at 267 Jefferson Mahaffey Street.

The funeral will be held Wednesday at Jefferson High School Arena at 6 p.m. It is located at 575 Washington Street, Jefferson. The family raised money on his behalf for the grant. Donations can be made here.