The shooter was described as of high school age, and was accompanied by two companions. Police have identified a suspect, Philadelphia Lt. Walter Bell said, and hope an arrest warrant will be issued in the coming days.
The shooting erupted after a fight involving an ongoing neighborhood dispute between two groups of teenagers, Bell said, and Dotson may not have been the intended target.
"I don't know if anybody was the target," Bell said, describing Dotson as a "good kid" who got As and Bs. "From the distance of the shooting, we think someone may have just fired at them."
Dotson had just started his junior year at Fels, his mother said. He and his identical twin had transferred from Olney High School, where Dotson was on the football and wrestling teams. He was a dedicated student, his mother said, and was also involved with church.
"He was a regular kid," Julie Dotson said. "He was a teenager living in a community that lacks resources for teenagers."
Dotson had planned to go out for football at his new school, she said, but instead he took plenty of time adjusting to his classes and workload.
"It wasn't one of the top schools, but he was still an achieving student," she said. "He always boasted about that report card. I was always very proud of him."
Dotson plans to take her other teenage son out of Fels and transfer him elsewhere. She also has an older son who is a senior at Virginia Union University.
Parents must be involved with their children's lives, Dotson said, and need to know whether their children are going to school and doing their work. Holding parents accountable is the only way to reduce crime in Philadelphia, she said.
"It's different when you lose a child," Julie Dotson said. "I can't even explain the dynamic of this hurt, just how this hurts so bad."
Contact staff writer Allison Steele at 215-854-2641 or asteele@phillynews.com.
