2 young men arrested in fatal shooting of high school football star

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (WANF/Gray News) – Two young men are in custody for the fatal shooting of a Georgia high school football star.

According to police, 17-year-old Elijah DeWitte was found dead Wednesday night in the Sugarloaf Mills Mall parking lot in Gwinnett County, about 27 miles northeast of Atlanta. He was there spending the evening with friends at Dave & Buster’s.

Police said DeWitte, a senior at Jefferson High School, had multiple gunshot wounds.

On Thursday, deputies arrested 19-year-old Chandler Richardson and 18-year-old Kemare Bryan in Anderson, South Carolina, about 100 miles northeast of where the shooting took place.

A judge denied bond for both suspects, and they were expected to be extradited to Gwinnett County early this week.

An investigation revealed that the shooting was not random and that all parties involved knew each other. Police said the shooting was the result of a dispute that escalated.

Elijah DeWitt’s father Craig DeWitt told WANF he forgives the shooters who killed his son.

“You know, we don’t know the kids. We don’t know their backgrounds. We don’t know their story. They’re forgiven from me,” Craig DeWitt said.

Elijah DeWitt’s family said he was a standout wide receiver on the football team, starting to get interest from Division 1 schools – he had just been invited to the University of Georgia for a recruiting visit at the Bulldogs’ game Saturday.

Elijah DeWitt’s mom Dawn DeWitt said some of her son’s organs have already been donated to others.

Copyright 2022 WANF via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.