The mother and younger sister of 14-year-old Elijah Le’chon Novelle Davenport joined homicide investigators Monday in a plea for help to find the person who shot and killed the teen in February 2025.

Investigators determined that Elijah was mistakenly identified by the shooter as a gang member when he was shot and killed in the 13100 block of Jarvis Avenue in the city of Los Angeles. No arrests have been reported, but the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on Monday asked for help to find the shooter and released security camera video of a car sought in connection with the Feb. 28, 2025 killing.

“He was just a kid. He had his whole life ahead of him,” sister Zekiah said Monday, fighting back tears. “He was not just a name in a news story. He was my brother. Now, we have to wake up every day knowing that he isn’t coming home. Elijah deserved to grow up. He deserved to graduate, make memories. He deserved better.”

Elijah was hanging out with friends and sitting in a vehicle on a Friday night in a South Los Angeles neighborhood when a vehicle approached on Jarvis Avenue. Someone inside the car opened fire at Elijah and a friend.

Elijah died at a hospital.

Elijah Davenport, 14, is pictured in a photo provided by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The friend, a 15-year-old boy, was not injured.

“I stand before you not only as a grieving mother, but as the voice of my son,” said mother Mercedes Roberson. “Before anyone remembers how he died, I want them to remember how he lived. He mattered.

“There isn’t a single day that goes by that I don’t think about Elijah. It follows me every morning when I wake but and every night before I go to bed.”

Video displayed at the Monday news conference showed the vehicle sought in connection with the shooting, investigators said. The video shows the vehicle at about midnight Feb. 28, 2025, shortly after the shooting.

The driver of the black sedan left the shooting scene heading north on Main Street and never went past 108th Street and Main Street.

“We strongly believe the suspects live in that general area,” said sheriff’s Lt. Steve DeJong. “Elijah Davenport’s life came to a tragic end that evening. We know there are people with information about Elijah’s murder.”

Anyone with information about the shooting was asked to call 323-890-5500 or CrimeStoppers.