Crime 'I Felt Him Leave:' Penn. Mom Held Dying Son After He Was Fatally Shot Leaving Football Practice Meredith Elizalde says she cradled her 14-year-old son Nicolas Elizalde, as he bled from the chest from an apparent gunshot wound on Tuesday By Tristan Balagtas Tristan Balagtas Digital News Writer, PEOPLE People Editorial Guidelines Published on September 30, 2022 04:48PM EDT Nicolas Elizalde. As the sound of gunfire erupted outside a Philadelphia high school on Tuesday, a mother picking up her son from football practice ran toward the bullets. Speaking with WCAU-TV, Meredith Elizalde says she found her 14-year-old, Nicolas Elizalde, bleeding from the chest and suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. "I heard the shooting start and I didn't know where he was, but inside as a mother I knew it. I ran to the shots," Elizalde recalled to the outlet. "I ran to the shots and I couldn't get him, but I held him and I felt him leave. But I was holding him. He wasn't alone." The fast-acting mother says she called 911 as she cradled Nicolas' lifeless body in her arms. "I love you, and I'm here," she reassured him, the station reports. She says Nicolas was "the best son that anyone could ever ask for, that he was so special, that he never hurt anyone or anything." "He was the most gentle soul that I ever came across in my life," Elizalde said. "I've always said it was like raising Gandhi." "There just isn't a better, more pure human being on Earth, and that's why God took him," she told the outlet. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. According to the Philadelphia Police Department, the shooting that killed Nicolas on Tuesday at Roxborough High School also left four other students injured. It is believed that Nicolas was not the intended target and was an innocent bystander, WCAU reports, citing police. Now, detectives are searching for a group of four to five gunmen who they say ambushed the teens in the deadly quintuple shooting, a PPD news release reads. Surveillance footage captured the gunmen, all dressed in black, exit a light-colored SUV, firing off multiple rounds at the group of teens. Police believe the shooters may also be minors, according to the station. The PPD is offering a $40,000 reward to anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspects involved. Those with knowledge on the case are urged to contact the homicide unit at (215) 686-3334.