Girlfriend of murdered Georgia high school football star says his final word was ‘Help’

The girlfriend of a murdered high school soccer star says his last word was “Help” as he died in a pool of blood after being shot outside a Georgia mall.

Bailey Reidling, 20, says she searched in vain for a pulse after her boyfriend Elijah De Witt was gunned down outside Sugarloaf Mills Mall in Lawrenceville on Oct. 5.

She told Fox News: “I run up to Elijah, and he’s on the floor and I go right up to him, and he mutters at me — the last word he said to me was ‘help.'”

“I checked his pulse and was shocked because there was nothing wrong there.”

Reidling’s screams were heard in the background of a 911 call.

Reidling described herself as full of shock and said she struggled to know what to do when Dewitt bled uncontrollably.

“You’re screaming in the moment because you’re in shock,” Reidling said. ‘A sweet lady came around the corner and said, “Honey, he just got shot. Calm down. We’ve called 911. They’re already on their way.”

DeWitt was on a date with his girlfriend of four years Reidling, as well as their friends Oscar and Angel when he was shot.

The two couples were at a Dave & Buster’s store when DeWitt gave Reidling his credit card, asked her to get food, and kissed her as she went to the bathroom. The four were only at the restaurant for about 15 minutes before DeWitt was shot.

Minutes later, Reidling and Angel couldn’t find their dates, so they urgently called them several times before Oscar finally answered.

“Oscar replied in a panic and all he said was ‘outside,'” Reidling recalled in an interview with DailyMail.com.

When Angel and Reidling ran outside, they found Oscar on his knees. Within seconds, they found Dewitt right next to him, drawing his last breath.

DeWitt is said to have had an altercation with two others the night he died. Police arrested Kemare Bryan, 18, and Chandler Richardson, 19, for murder and possession of a firearm two days later in South Carolina.

Bryan and Richardson were expected to be extradited to Georgia on Monday.

Despite the fear she faces, Reidling says she is following in the footsteps of DeWitt’s parents and choosing to forgive his killers.

“Elia would forgive them, which seems like he wouldn’t, you know, if you’re one of those boy friends or you see him on the pitch, he’s a scary player, but he would have forgiven them. I’m going,” Reidling said.

“There’s something in my heart that tells me that. I have no hatred for them. Fury? Yes.’

Reidling confirmed that DeWitt may have known the suspects after meeting them at the Dave & Buster a few days earlier. DeWitt had gone to an entertainment restaurant and was approached by Bryan and Richardson asking if he had weed, Reidling was told by a source.

She said it’s unclear how the suspects knew DeWitt would have been at the Dave & Buster’s on October 5.

Reidling said her boyfriend, a soccer star, had spent the night before his death in her apartment. The next morning, Dewitt went to practice and Reidling went to work.

“He texted me he had the best workout he’d ever had,” Reidling said.

DeWitt later went golfing with his friends before going on the double date.

The lovebirds had a three-year age difference, and both attended Jefferson High School for a year together when the soccer star was a freshman. To be close to DeWitt, Reidling chose to attend Georgia Southern University.

Reiding mourned her boyfriend in a heartfelt tribute on Monday. In light of DeWitt’s visit on Tuesday and the funeral on Wednesday, Reidling captioned a photo of her and her boyfriend of more than four years cuddling together with eight pages of tribute.

“They say you can’t ask God, but damn it,” Reidling wrote in a tribute on Oct. 10. “I never thought I’d have to write this. Honey, I know you couldn’t help what happened, but damn why did you leave me.”

“All this isn’t quite right for me yet, so I feel like I’m stuck,” Reidling wrote. “I don’t think so, because I really believe in a long dream… I’m waiting for you to text me, call me back or grab me.”

“Elijah, I need you with me,” she continued. “I need you here to tell me if I’m acting dramatic, I need you here to give me a hug, even if I don’t want a hug… to kiss me and tell me everything’s going to be okay, to tell me to come in and just go to bed if I’m not feeling well mentally or physically. I need you here as protection when I’m scared.’

Reidling recalled her past with DeWitt which is nothing more than mere memories. She counted on the soccer star to explain her complicated topics, such as how cryptocurrency works — or to be the first to greet here mornings and evenings.

The heartbroken girlfriend later explained that she was happy that the suspects had been arrested, but that she was more focused on not having DeWitt anymore.

“I used to hate that you went so slow when we were in a hurry, but darn it, I’d give anything to rush you again,” she wrote. “Call me selfish, I don’t care, but I don’t have my Elijah, half of me is gone.”

DeWitt was referred to as a “gentle giant” by some of those who knew him, according to Reidling who recalled his radiant energy.

Elijah was a light, he was not a man of many words, but in every room he walked into he made his presence. He made me a stronger person, he made me

Reidling concluded, “Until I get my wings to be with you again, make sure our home in heaven looks exactly like we planned our first home to look like when we’re ‘multi-millionaires’.” ‘

A candlelight vigil for DeWitt was held Sunday night as nearly a hundred people gathered to honor the Jefferson High School student.

“Absolutely the worst day of my life,” Dawn Erwitt, Elijah’s mother, told Fox News. “His life came to a complete standstill in seconds.”

Erwitt told 11Alive News that her son was dedicated to soccer and aspired to be number one.

“He loved football, he was ready and willing to do whatever it takes to get to D1, that was his ultimate goal.”

Despite the loss of their son, Dawn and her husband Craig have forgiven his alleged killers.

Forgiveness is for the forgiving,” Craig told Fox News. “We don’t want the hate in this household.”

Elijah died on his father’s birthday, according to 11Alive News.