HUNTINGTON -- Friends, family and teammates gathered Sunday night at a candlelight vigil in honor of Donte D. Newsome, who was killed Saturday in downtown Huntington.
Newsome, 25, was a former Marshall football player from Chesapeake, Va. He was shot in front of Fluid night club in the 600 block of 4th Avenue early Saturday morning.
"Donte loved football. He loved Marshall. He loved his fiance. He loved his children, and he loved Huntington," said Newsome's father, Bruce Smith, who traveled with family from Virginia to attend the vigil.
"Donte was so far away from home, but he found a whole new family here," said his older brother, Tony Lomba.
The street was crowded with those who came to pay their respects for Newsome. They shared shoulders to cry on and offered stories to laugh about. Donte Newsome's father stressed the importance of love during this time.
"Our family has no feelings of hate, discontent or vengeance. We pray for the man who took our son's life. We hope that he repents and asks for the Lord's forgiveness," Smith said.
BJ Smith, who turned 16 on Saturday, was expecting a "Happy Birthday" phone call from his big brother, Donte.
"It's hard to lose someone that you idolize. He was a good guy. He never forgot my birthday, but he died on my birthday this year -- I know he would have called," BJ Smith said. "Sometimes it feels like he is still here, like I could still walk across the hall and knock on his door, and he would be there."
The shooting also injured Curtis Keyes, 24, a friend and former teammate of Newsome's. Keyes was released from the hospital later Saturday.
Keyes, Newsome, Dennis Thorton, Ivan Clark and Terick Thomas were close friends who called themselves "The Fab Five."
"I'd say sentences, and he would finish them. We even went to the bathroom together sometimes," Keyes said. "A part of me passed away early Saturday morning."
Newsome's mother, Angela Smith, said Newsome loved football and would have played until he was 90 if he could.
"No matter where he went, he always came back to Huntington. He loved it here," Angela Smith said. "It was less than two weeks ago when he went to Huntington, and I asked him, 'Did my little birdie fly away?' He said, 'Yes, I have made Huntington my home.' "
Bruce Smith urged the public to love one another and stop senseless killings.
"We need more love and less hate. This situation has flipped my heart, my mind and my soul. It changed my life. Now I feel like I should be more focused on love," Bruce Smith said.
The family also expressed great appreciation for Newsome's friends who attended the vigil. Bruce Smith said that before this event, he did not realize the magnitude of love for Donte.
"The love we have gotten from this city has helped to heal us. I feel like just today half of my wounds were healed."
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