Jefferson mourns high school football standout Elijah Dewitt

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - In the small town of Jefferson, the community is reeling after learning about the tragic death of a Jefferson High School student.

Bailee Stanley is stunned and saddened by the loss of her classmate Elijah DeWitt.

“It’s very heartbreaking. I mean you don’t see this every day in small town Jefferson,” Classmate Bailee Stanley said.

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DeWitt was shot and killed outside the Dave and Buster’s at Sugarloaf Mills Mall on Wednesday night. News of the incident spread quickly in Jefferson.

I’ve known the kid for 7-10 plus years and it still hasn’t set in yet,” teammate Bryson Hill said.

Hill played football with DeWitt and said they’ve been friends for more than a decade.

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“It was a group of four. The girls were in Dave and Busters, and they went to the bathroom and Elijah went out with a friend of mine to grab something out of the car and we all know the rest,” Hill said.

The Jefferson High wide receiver entertained fans on Friday nights. He even got the attention of former college football and NFL great Cam Newton. He played in Newton’s 7vs7 league featuring some of the nation’s best high school players. Newton posted a comment on Twitter saying, “We lost a brother last night. Our thoughts and prayers are with DeWitt family, Jefferson High School family and all those impacted by this tragic loss. We will miss you! RIP Elijah ‘Eazy’ DeWitt.”

“It’s heartbreaking and we’re all coming together and we’re going to help the family if they need help and everybody that was involved,” Stanley said.