One week later, no arrests made in connection to 12-year-old homicide

LEMON GROVE, Calif. (KGTV) — Friends and schoolmates of 12-year-old Elijah Smith hosted a balloon release for him Friday.
Elijah went to Lemon Grove Academy Middle School, and his teachers released 12 balloons to honor Smith’s age; then, his friends released blue balloons because blue was Elijah’s favorite color.
Elijah was shot to death at a house party in National City one week ago.
National City Police investigators are handling Elijah’s case, but there are still few answers to the many questions the family has surrounding his death.
Mainly, who is the person who shot and killed Elijah?
No description has been released yet, and the Smith family said they have not had any new updates in the past week with the investigation.
Still, Sofia Alvarez Smith, Elijah’s mother, and Oakley Smith, Elijah’s sister, are not relenting in trying to gather as much information from the community as possible to help solve Elijah’s case.
Grief has also been hard for Elijah’s family to navigate.
Sofia said she finally listened to a voicemail she saved from Elijah for the first time Friday.
“I miss him,” Smith said. “I’m so hurt. Today, I’m angry. Today marks a week, but today marks a week since we last saw Elijah. It’s difficult today because we don’t have answers yet. We have no leads. We don’t know what’s going on. I always knew what was going on with Elijah. And I always knew where he was at.”
Oakley said she’s felt like something has been missing the entire past week.
“I still feel he’s just gonna like walk in the house,” Oakley said. “The other day, I walked in, and I turned to talk to him, and I was like, oh my god, what am I thinking?”
Oakley looked to her little brother, as even one of her own children. Oakley and Elijah are 18 years apart, and she said her nicknames for Elijah were “Rolldog” and “Hamburger.”
“When he was a baby he had like a little squishy, fat face like a hamburger and you wanna just eat his face,” Oakley said. “It feels like he’s missing like it’s not real still.”
Last Sunday, Sofia and Oakley stood in front of the National City Police Department and asked for the public’s help to find the person who took Elijah’s life.
As of Friday, Oakley said she has not received any new information from community members.
“I did post on social media. If anyone has any information about the party, to contact me,” Oakley said. “I won’t put their name out there.”
Elijah’s family said they know they may not hear back from investigators until an arrest has been made.
Sofia said it’s been especially hard because they also haven’t heard from the medical examiner’s office either and don’t have all the answers about how Elijah exactly died.
The family renewed their call to the public, asking for help.
Oakley said any video or piece of information about the shooting could stop the person responsible from committing another crime.
“It would help us a lot because not only do we not have justice for Elijah and the other children that were hurt, but also it gives them whoever did this room to keep doing it,” Oakley said. “If they’re not caught, then it could be anybody’s kid next and nobody wants that. We’re not safe right now.”
Oakley started this
for her brother’s funeral service. It’s also going to help support the family as they take time off work to grieve.
To submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers, call Detective Taylor at 619-336-4482 or Detective Slanlon at 619-335-4465.