NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Friends tell News 3 they are heartbroken over the loss of 17-year-old Justice Dunham. He was a football player at Woodside High School.
His teammates say they're still processing the news, but they all agree it's a case of a life gone too soon.
"We knew that something was wrong, he was face first and he wasn't moving."
Those are the words from a Newport News native. She went to the basketball game at Menchville High School and found Justice lying on the ground.
"We got to him he was just making a noise of a 'uhhhh' so we could kind of tell it was consistent that he's fighting for his life," one friend told News 3. "So that's why she took his pulse because we knew that something was wrong. He was face first and he wasn't moving."
Her friend she was with at the game took Justice's pulse and stayed with him until his last breath.
"It's hard but you kind of get tired of this and we need something different," Dimitri Bailey, a youth pastor, and basketball coach said.
Bailey says he didn't know Justice personally, but the basketball players he coaches describe him as a friend and brother.
"I mean a lot of kids were choked up about it," Bailey said.
Including Woodside alumni who also went to the game to support.
"It's unfortunate we can't just have a rivalry game and enjoy it without somebody having to die," Dr. Alecia Bell said.
Bell tells News 3 that she left before the shooting happened and says it's very unfortunate that another teen in Newport News lost their life to gun violence.
Newport News Police say this is the 27th homicide of the year. Some of Justice's teammates told News 3 that the team is having a meeting tomorrow to remember him and all athletics are canceled until December 26.
