Hillcrest High School parent offers reward to find killer who took 14-year-old's life
COUNTRY CLUB HILLS, Ill. (CBS) -- Students in south suburban Country Club Hills returned to class Monday, following the shooting that killed freshman Marshawn Mitchell.
Someone shot the 14-year-old after the Hillcrest High School football game on Friday night. As police looked for the shooter, one parent stepped up in a huge way.
As CBS 2's Jermont Terry reported, the father of a student at the school is putting up a $4,000 reward to find whoever traumatized the Hillcrest campus – leaving so many grieving. The reward is to solve the murder of a young man he even met.
On Monday evening, the memorial outside Hillcrest High continued to grow. Friends of Marshawn's gathered in the spot where someone opened fire.
"The family of Hillcrest, we all are saddened by this," said Stringer Harris.
Marshawn was shot four times in front of his classmates at his high school's homecoming game.
Harris doesn't know the 14-year-old, but his daughter is also a freshman at the school. CBS 2's Terry asked Harris' daughter, Kayla Watkins, about the mood in the school on Monday.
"It was very sad," she said. "You could feel the energy of people. They were feeling hurt."
Kayla is thankful she did not attend the homecoming game. But despite not being there, the pain is still resonating as the students walk by the memorial.
"It hurts to know that I go to school at a place that something like that happened, and I have to walk where that happened at," she said.
Kayla's father is also an alum of Hillcrest. He wants to make sure the hurt and fear his daughter and so many others have is eased. Harris, along with the Hillcrest Alumni Association, is offering a $4,000 reward to find Marshawn's killer.
"Some people might look at $4,000 and be like, 'Hey, I'm not giving up my son or daughter, or whoever was involved with this, for just $4,000,'" Stringer said. "But I always urge, and I tell people to put yourself in those people's shoes."
Over the weekend, the teen's family made an emotional plea.
"And whoever parent of the child that killed him - she know her child did it," said La Africa Lenoir, the victim's cousin. "We must take a stand. We got to do something different. These are babies killing babies."
Harris hopes the reward will bring some closure.
"We want to get justice for him," he said. "You know, this shouldn't happen to anybody."
Country Club Hills police have not arrested anyone in this case. In addition to the $4,000 reward Harris put up, there was also a separate $1,000 reward – bringing the total to $5,000.
Tips can go directly to police.
