Steve A. Smith

MADISON, Ill. — Steve A. Smith spoiled his seven grandchildren, paying for family trips to Florida and, after years of building his janitorial business, carving out time to attend as many of their ballgames as possible. Smith's wife, a son and two grandchildren on Tuesday shared stories of Smith, who was shot and killed after a brawl at a youth football game on Sunday. They remembered him as a reliable, humble, kind-hearted Christian man. "He was a safe person to be around," said granddaughter Skylar Smith, 14. "He felt like a warm hug." On Sunday, Smith drove from his home in St. Charles County to Madison, Illinois, to watch his 12-year-old grandson Stephon "Deuce" Smith Jr. play in the 12U American Youth Football D1 Super Bowl. With a minute to go in the game, and Deuce's team losing 14-2, the stadium lights on a timer switched off, and a ruckus on the field devolved into chaos. Smith, 64, was shot to death as he left the stadium. Two coaches for his grandson's club team, and a spectator, were also shot but survived. Smith was active in the men's ministry at Grace New Covenant Church, where he and his wife Evelyn were recently honored for 15 years of service. Smith provided janitorial service for free at the church, and often brought his grandkids to help him clean, said Tommie Harsley III, the church pastor. "He was very happy and had a tremendous work ethic," Harsley said. "This is a tragedy of the deepest sort." The youth championship game pitted Deuce's team, the East St. Louis Jr. Flyers, against a longtime rival, the O Supreme. Leading up to the game, people had been lobbing insults on social media, mainly by adults, said Deuce's mother, Myia Woolfolk. "These two teams have a history of chaos at their games," Woolfolk said. "It's a lot of trash talk on the internet about it, like 'Who's better than who,' or 'My kid is better than that,' or 'He can't tackle my kid.'" When the stadium fell dark, Woolfolk said she sensed it was time to leave. Deuce's father told Woolfolk to get their son, a linebacker, out of the stadium. They rushed to her car in the parking lot. "Right when we touched the doorknobs to get in the car," she said, "that's when we heard the gunshots." She heard several bursts of gunfire. Stephon Smith, Deuce's father, said everyone on the field had to exit through a single gate. "Adults were fighting," he said. "It was stampede-style. Everybody was rushing toward the entrance." Stephon Smith said he lost track of his father. He sat in his car and began calling his father's cellphone, six or seven times, to see where he was, but there was no answer. He walked back toward the field to look for his dad. "I saw somebody flashing a flashlight over a body, and I got closer, I seen him," he said. Steve Smith died at the scene. He was shot about 15 yards from the entrance gate. Woolfolk said two coaches for the East St. Louis team, head coach Damariyah Carter and defensive coach Bacari Woods, have been released from the hospital after being treated for gunshot wounds. Police have not released details about the victims who survived. On Tuesday, Deuce sat in the kitchen of his grandfather's home, looking stunned and saying little. He was watching a video of the game on a cellphone. Woolfolk said it was unusual for her loud, bold son to be so quiet. Deuce and "his papa" were very best friends, Woolfolk said. "They were inseparable." She plans to get counseling for Deuce and his sister.