LITTLE ROCK, Ark — Family and loved ones of 18-year old Dorian Withers say that he had a village of supporters and that his death shouldn't be in vain or disregarded.
Withers was shot in the head and leg Tuesday night in John Barrow. He was found on the 4100 block of Ludwig Street in a vehicle and taken to a local hospital.
He later died from his injuries.
"Dorian was not that kid that you would read about in the newspaper where you go, 'Oh, he got shot. Just another thug in the streets doing that.' He was kid like every other kid. He did things that teenagers did," said his grandmother, Pheleisa Woods.
Withers would go back and forth between Wood's home and his mother, Shanna Conley's home. Woods and her husband placed Withers in the Youth Challenge Program where he graduated top of his class.
He graduated from Mills University Studies High School.
Andrea Johnson is the assistant principal for the school and said Withers was a funny, bright and smart kid.
“Every time you would see him he would have a grin on his face. Me and him would love to joke with each other on a daily basis," Johnson said.
Duane Clayton is the principal and said Withers was inquisitive and always seeking more out of life.
"When I heard the news, I'm recounting every step I took with him and going 'What could I have done differently? How could I have connected more,'" Clayton said.
Withers was also a part of the Hamilton Boys and Girls Club of central Arkansas. Derrick Williams is the unit director there and said he's known Withers since he was about five years old.
"Dorian was a really good kid. That smile would knock you out," Williams said. "Very respectful. Very mannerable.”
Withers just enrolled in mechanical school for January.
His mother said he was full of life and always hilarious.
“He was just a beautiful person, and I wouldn’t, couldn’t change that for nothing in the world. This has been the most amazing 18 years of my life. I would not change it for nothing in the world, and God does not make mistakes," Conley told us.