'I felt him leave': Mother of 14-yr-old Nicolas Elizalde's heartbreaking tale of his final seconds in her arms
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: Meredith Elizalde, mother of the 14-year-old victim who was fatally shot near Roxborough High School, recounted her heartbreaking words to her dying son. She whispered an Islamic prayer and said "I love you, I’m here," as he felt him leave, reports NBC Philadelphia.
Nicolas Elizalde succumbed to gunshot wounds he received after a scrimmage on Tuesday, September 27. The attackers were five teenagers who shot four others, among whom Nicolas was the fatal victim. "I heard the shooting start and I didn’t know where he was, but inside as a mother, I knew it," said his mother, speaking to the outlet, sobbing inconsolably as she recounted, "I ran to the shots. I ran to the shots and I couldn’t get him, but I held him and I felt him leave. But I was holding him. He wasn’t alone."
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The Philadelphia Police have released the surveillance footage of the entirety of the shooting. The bereaved mother confessed she felt she was reliving the trauma of losing her teenage son when she watched the video. "The surveillance video is very hard to watch, these kids shooting other kids. And nothing is going to change," she said, adding that she does not want her son to be just another name added to the list of juveniles who lost their lives to shooting in the city this year.
She had been waiting to pick her son up and desperately tried to find him upon hearing the gunshots. She frantically called 911 while cradling her dying son in her arm. Describing him as a "martyr", Elizalde revealed he would have turned 15 the following week. She also spoke highly of her son's activities, adding that he did his part to serve society, and stood for animal rights, climate change as well as gun control.
The other victims shot that day included a 14-year-old male and a 17-year-old male who were both rushed to the hospital and were stable. The fourth victim's condition remains undisclosed, as per Independent. Authorities have described the suspects as "four to five males, all dressed in all black clothing." They are said to have escaped in a light-colored SUV. Philadelphia Police has offered a reward of $20,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of each of the shooters.
Anyone with information is urged to call Philadelphia Police Department Homicide Division at 215-686-3334 or 215-686-3335 and contact Detectives Grace and Coulter.