CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — A local high school is mourning a recent graduate shot and killed while he was sleeping.
Police say the 19-year-old's stepfather admitted to the shooting at church on Sunday.
Bryce McCallum, who was expecting a baby in December, graduated from Etowah High School in Cherokee County in 2015.
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He was shot and killed inside his family’s Woodstock home Sunday afternoon. Investigators found him sitting in a chair.
Lewis drove 10 miles to nearby First Baptist Church of Woodstock to confess, according to officers. A church leader said they had never seen Lewis before and believes he may have been heading to a nearby precinct when he spotted police at the church. %
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A friend said there was nothing but trouble between Lewis and McCallum and it all came to a head during a recent altercation about the way Lewis treated McCallum’s younger brother.
“Bryce wasn’t having that, so he stuck up for his blood brother like anybody should,” friend Chris Kandra said.
Channel 2's Nicole Carr spoke with McCallum's roommate at the University of West Georgia on Monday when he returned to visit their alma mater in Cherokee County. Kaelo Amanambu said he and McCallum had been friends since middle school.
“He’s gone and I haven’t come to terms. I still haven’t come to terms. I don’t know when I’ll come to terms,” Amanambu said. %
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Amanambu broke down while talking about his best friend. He says he had just seen him two days ago.
“He was my best friend, my brother,” he said. “I can’t believe he’s gone.”
McCallum asked Amanambu to be his child’s godfather. He and several of McCallum’s other friends say they will all be there for the child and make sure it knows how kind its father was.
Etowah High School released the following statement on his death Monday:
"Etowah High School mourns the loss of Bryce McCallum, Class of 2015. Bryce was loved by his friends and football teammates and positively contributed to his school and community. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends."
Police say McCallum’s mother and younger brother were not home when the shooting happened on Sunday.
Lewis is due in court Tuesday afternoon.