Slain Homewood teen was caring, giving, family says - Chicago Tribune

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Even though it is fall, a Homewood family is already starting to think about Christmas.

It will be a sad one for the family.

That's because the holiday was a special one for Alisia Dieudonne, a 19-year-old who was killed Sunday after stray gunfire erupted during a party at her friend's house in the college town of Greensboro, N.C.

"Every year, she was the one who made sure everyone had a present," said her brother Matthew Dieudonne, 22. "Even the dog."

Investigators are still searching for a suspect in the early Sunday morning shooting that killed the teen and a second student from North Carolina A&T State University, Ahmad Campbell, 21, of Kittrell, N.C.

"We are interviewing a lot of people, but we have not identified a suspect at this point," said Susan Danielsen, spokeswoman for the Greensboro Police Department.

The local Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line is offering rewards up to $2,000 for information that leads to an arrest of the man who opened fire at the off-campus party. The shooting remains under investigation.

Police said there is no evidence either victim was a part of the fight that instigated the shooting, and both appear to be innocent bystanders.

The party was at the home of new friend Alisia Dieudonne had made in college, her family said. A group of people who weren't supposed to be there showed up and weren't allowed in. An argument started outside the home, but gunfire struck her daughter inside, her mother Mary Dieudonne.

Alisia Dieudonne graduated from Homewood-Flossmoor High School in 2015. She was a sophomore studying computer science at the historically black university when she was shot.

College life was starting to become more comfortable for the teen, who had been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder when she was younger and struggled at first in the new environment, said Mary Dieudonne, who still spoke to her daughter over video chat several times a week.

From a young age, Alisia Dieudonne was fiercely loyal and giving, said her sister Jacqueline Hill, 22. Hill remembers when Alisia Dieudonne was in middle school and she didn't have money to buy anyone anything for Christmas. So, she found items the children had lost or important items they needed and wrapped those as gifts, Hill said.

Alisia Dieudonne kept the same group of close friends all the way through high school, and remained close even as they all spread out to different parts of the country for school.

After a rough first semester, Alisia Dieudonne buckled down in the second half of her freshman year. She stayed in North Carolina over the summer and took 12 credit hours.

"She didn't need the support as much. She started making friends," Mary Dieudonne said.

A dancer in high school, Alisia Dieudonne joined the dance team at the university. The calls home were becoming less frequent.

"She was branching out," Mary Dieudonne said.

Wednesday nights were for dinner and debate when the children were younger, said Dieudonne's stepfather, James Hill III. It was a tradition he started with his children that carried on when the two families blended together.

James Hill said that "was the night we always sat in the dining room and talked."

The family recalled that Alisia Dieudonne also was opinionated.

"She had to make sure the others heard her voice," Mary Dieudonne added. "She stood her ground. That's who she was."

Nick Swedberg is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.

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