DESOTO - A candlelight vigil was held Thursday night for Deonte Johnson, the 12-year-old DeSoto boy who was taken off life support Wednesday night after being run over by a car Friday.
"I told him that I love him so much," said April Richardson of the last words she told her son before he was taken off life support. "I told him that he means the world to me."
DeSoto police said the incident stemmed from a fight between multiple teenagers at the Brook Hollow apartment complex.
The street brawl was caught on tape, and ended with 17-year-old Dominique Hemphill getting into a car and running over Johnson, an innocent bystander. Hemphill is facing charges in connection to the crime.
Shaquitha Hemphill, the suspect's sister, said she is sorry for the young boy's family and that her brother would be devastated upon hearing he died.
"You got to live with that," she said. "You hurt someone ... being caught up in something violent. You hurt a little innocent boy."
News 8 has learned the incident was part of an ongoing feud among teenagers in the neighborhood. Shortly after the fight, there was a drive by shooting targeting some of the teens involved. However, bullets hit the home of another person not involved in the feud.
"This is my family," said Toni Polk, whose home was hit. "This is my house. And, it's sad that you have these kids that are running around here feeling that you can just come out here shooting people. That is not how you solve problems."
DeSoto police continue to work the investigation and say other teenagers will also face charges in connection to Johnson's death.
Johnson was kept alive by machine for days after the critical incident. The mother of the boy, who friends and family called DJ, said he had been brain dead since the accident.
