Services Set For Slain Hillcrest High School Freshman

HAZEL CREST, IL — Services have been set for a 14-year-old Hazel Crest boy fatally shot outside his high school's homecoming football game.

Hillcrest High School freshman Marshawn Mitchell, was shot in the chest outside the school, 17401 S. Pulaski Rd., while leaving the game against Oak Forest High School, his mother Amanda Lenoir saying he was caught in the crossfire. Lenoir said police believe they have suspects identified, but no arrests have been made.

Visitation will be held Saturday, Sept. 30, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., followed by a funeral at 10:30 a.m. Both will be held at Holy Temple Cathedral, 15912 Lincoln Ave., in Harvey.

Mitchell had transferred from Brother Rice High School in Chicago, where Lenoir said he was experiencing run-ins with racism. He had graduated from Prairie-Hills Junior High in nearby Markham, and had been asking that she allow him to make the move to Hillcrest, where the majority of his former classmates attend.

Lenoir told Patch her son was "on the right track," with no gang affiliations, a passion for football, NFL dreams, and a sense of humor remembered by many.

"My son was a good kid," said his mother, Amanda Lenoir. "My son was not in any gangs or anything. He was just an innocent bystander."

A wide receiver, he'd briefly been on the Brother Rice team, matriculating from the Southside Seahawks and Midwest Seahawks youth football teams. He had been so excited to play at Hillcrest, she said.

"All my baby ever wanted to do was play football, and you stole that from him," she said, referring to the person shot him.

Lenoir described her only child as "a jokester."

"He always cracked jokes," she said. "He loved football, he loved working out. He had the best smile ever, he always brightened up my days.

"... His smile, his dimples. ... He always made people laugh. He’d just crack jokes, he made light of every situation, everybody loved him. He could turn your frown into a smile, just like that."

Classmates, friends, and family of the slain teen gathered Wednesday outside the high school, encircling Lenoir, who held tight to a framed photo of Mitchell. A family member implored anyone with information on the shooting to come forward.

"Please, I'm begging you with every breath I have, come forward," Lenoir's cousin La Africa told Patch.

Lenoir also pleaded for anyone with information to go to Country Club Hills police.

"Please, help me get justice for Marshawn,"she told Patch Tuesday. "Anybody that knows him, knows he didn’t deserve that."

A GoFundMe has been started to support the family with expenses such as private investigators, community outreach, and time lost at work.