SAVANNAH, Ga. () – A tragedy struck last week when a teenager from Savannah lost his life, and new developments are surfacing that could explain the circumstances leading to his death.

A boxing match, which was not officially sanctioned, occurred just steps from the home of 17-year-old Shinobi Pitts five days before he was fatally shot, and his family believes these events may be connected.

On Saturday, August 16, an event known as “Guns Down, Gloves Up” took place at an apartment complex on Pennsylvania Avenue in Savannah. Neighbors shared this information on the day of Pitts’ memorial service.

The event was intended as a platform for local youth in Savannah to resolve conflicts by boxing rather than resorting to violence.

“They were having boxing matches, with some participants getting knocked out. It was like they were selecting opponents, saying, ‘I’ll fight this person, I’ll fight that person,'” reported a neighbor.

A young man who claims to have organized the boxing event has been actively discussing it on social media, highlighting the presence of uniformed Savannah Police Department (SPD) officers at various times throughout the day.

“There were a couple officers over there,” another neighbor said. “They were staying to the side, just making sure crowd control. They weren’t entertaining it or anything like that, just out there.”

confirmed with SPD that at least two patrol officers on the night shift stopped by to check on the situation and then left without making any arrests.

Five days later, Pitts was shot outside his home.

His mother said she believes the circumstances leading up to his death were directly tied to the event.

“He was actually going to school with the other child who shot my son. They actually had a fight back in 8th grade,” Pitts’ mother Sophy Garcia said. “My son so happened to be here with his friend, just viewing, watching, and that kid who he fought in eighth grade who shot my son was here, and nothing transpired then, but my son did tell me the kid, he saw him. My son did tell me the next day the kid had reached out to my son wanting to fight him.”

On the day Pitts was killed, his mother said he was waiting for the fight to happen.

“I would’ve least expected. It didn’t dawn on me. It honestly didn’t. Unfortunately, my son was out here waiting for him at the gazebo, and the car pulled up, from what witnesses are telling us,” Garcia said. “My son had no weapons on him…Witnesses said there was no words exchanged, and the kid just shot him.”

asked neighbors what they thought of the “Guns Down, Gloves Up” initiative.

“Look what it stemmed to. They could find other ways to settle things,” one neighbor said.

asked the neighbor to elaborate, and they said, “What we out here for tonight,” in reference to Pitts’ memorial.

One person, Zaki Lowe, has been arrested in connection to Pitts’ death and is being charged with murder and aggravated assault.

The SPD has not confirmed that a planned fight involving Lowe or Pitts is what led to the shooting death.

was not able to get the incident report for the Aug. 16 event because, according to SPD, it is part of an active homicide investigation.