(NewsNation) — A small town in northern Georgia is mourning the loss of a high school football player who was shot and killed last Wednesday.
Elijah Dewitt was on a date with his girlfriend at a local Dave and Busters when two suspects allegedly gunned down the 18-year-old.
Officers said they responded to the shooting Wednesday around 8:15 p.m.
Upon arrival, deputies located Dewitt in the parking lot with gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Two arrests were made Thursday in South Carolina, about 100 miles from the shooting, in connection to Dewitt’s shooting.
The Gwinnett Police Department has charged 19-year-old Chandler Zion Richardson and 18-year-old Kemare Bryan with felony murder, malice murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of certain felonies in connection with the murder of 17-year-old Elijah Dewitt.
Investigators have learned that the suspects and victim were familiar with each other and believe an altercation took place before the shooting.
“The interaction between them was extremely fast, and it went from just a shove to shooting within a second,” Sgt. J.R. Richter with the Gwinnett Police Department said. “We are still trying to put those pieces together and trying to figure out what led up to this.”
After several hours of interviewing both suspects, deputies booked both men into the Anderson County Detention Center.
The suspects were extradited back to Georgia on Monday.
The case remains under investigation as the motive for the shooting is still unknown.
Dewitt was a senior in high school and a standout high school football player in Jefferson, Georgia, just north of Athens.
The Jefferson High School Football program posted on Facebook saying they were “heartbroken as we mourn the loss of one of our own.”
Dewitt will be laid to rest on Wednesday, surrounded by family and friends.
NewsNation affiliate WSPA contributed to this report.