Teen dies in Norfolk shooting

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - A teenage male died after suffering a gunshot wound in the Diggs Town neighborhood Saturday afternoon.

Norfolk Police Department spokeswoman Karen Parker-Chesson said officers responded to a shooting call in the 1700 block of Greenleaf Drive around 3:04 p.m.

Police arrived to find the teen suffering from a gunshot wound. Medics took him to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital where doctors pronounced him dead.

The victim has been identified as 17-year-old Clifton Little, Jr.

"It's bad," said friend and coach Brad Davis. "He was like a son to me. When I found out I was working. It's tough. I don't know what happened."

Davis says he coached Little and was trying to help him get a spot playing for Green Run High School. He talked to Davis on the phone hours before he was shot Saturday night. There were no signs of trouble or of what was to come.

"I was just talking about school," Davis said. "I was telling him to stay in school, and keep doing what he was doing. We were just having a regular conversation."

"He was a smart, intelligent young man," said Little's stepmother, Jacqueline Gregory. "He had a lot going for him. He had a beautiful future for himself. I can't believe something like this happened to him."

"All he would tell me is that he wanted to play football," Gregory said. "He wanted to be in the NFL. There were on other plans. Just play football and take care of his little brothers,"

Little's father says he dropped his son on Greenleaf Drive an hour before he was shot and killed.

"For somebody to do something to my son like that I can't accept that. I'm not going to accept it. Somebody is going to have to tell me something," Little said.

Police will not say who pulled the trigger or why fueling Little Sr's heartache and loss.

"How is my son going to get shot in the chest? Evidently someone someone had to point a gun at him," Little said.'

Little's father says he is determined to find out what happened, but first he has to console the five siblings Little Junior left behind.

"How do you think I feel? I have to tell his other siblings their oldest brother passed away. It hurts," Little said.

Several family members say Little was a smart kid, an honor roll student who had dreams of playing in the NFL. Now, his family is struggling with their worse nightmare of having to goodbye to Little before any of his  dreams are realized.

"I can't even explain the emotions. I've been crying all day. I want my son. I can't have my son anymore. I've got to go to my son's bedroom. Can you imagine going to your son's bedroom and he's not there," Little said.

Parker-Chesson said she had no details on suspects or motive at this time. Anyone with information should call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCk-U-UP.