‘Just a Kid': High School Student Shot and Killed in Fredericksburg

A high school student who was months away from graduation was shot and killed Sunday in Fredericksburg, Virginia, police say.

Jasiah Smith, 18, was found lying in a parking space with multiple gunshot wounds in the 200 block of Chadwick Court at about 3 p.m., according to a Fredericksburg Police Department release.

Before medics arrived, two women who lived nearby at the townhouse community heard the gunfire and ran to help.

"I got down on the ground and checked his pulse and his pulse was very faint. I just started looking for bullet wounds. I just kept saying, 'Come on baby, breathe. They're almost here,'" one of the good Samaritans told News4 by phone. She did not want to be identified.

With chest compressions, she was able to keep Smith breathing until first responders took over.

Smith died a short time later at a hospital, police said.

"I have never been in that type of situation before, and when I found out that he was just a kid, it hit me a little harder," the good Samaritan said.

The teen, who was a senior at James Monroe High School, had been hanging out with some friends in the parking lot near a basketball court when he was shot, police said.

Witnesses said they saw a large group of teens surrounding Smith right after the gunfire. One teen reached down to try to pull him up, witnesses said.

But police said the teens have given them little information about who fired the fatal shots.

"It's tragic, it's absolutley tragic. As a mother myself, I can’t imagine what his family is going through right now and any information the public has that can help us identify the suspect in this situation, the person who took his life, we’re hoping the public provides that to us," said Sarah Morries, spokesperson for the Fredericksburg Police Department.

Police are asking anyone with information to call 540-373-3122 or by texting “847-411” with “FPDtip” with the information.