Confused, heartbroken and saddened are just a few of the words St. Sabina Priest Michael Pfleger leaned on when describing his feelings toward the killing of Adam Dowdell and the subsequent arrest of Ivry Hall — who is a member of the Chicago church.

Hall, a 20-year-old in his third year at Alabama State University, seemed to be doing all the right things, Pfleger said. Yet, he is now being held at the Montgomery County Detention Facility facing a murder charge in the killing of Dowdell.

Hall and Dowdell knew each other as friends for the past two years, according to Dowdell’s mom Toya Cohill.

To Father Pfleger, it is a tale all too familiar in his community in South Side Chicago — the place Hall calls home — but one that is seen across the country.

“I am obviously keeping the family of Adam in our prayers here. They are dealing with the loss of a brother, son and friend and we are lifting them up in our prayers,” Pfleger said.

“Our young Black men both being killed, and being in jail is a vicious cycle that we need to break,” Pfleger continued.

He, like so many others familiar with Hall and his testimony, thought moving from his hometown to Alabama to pursue an education was evidence that he had succeeded in escaping that cycle. They are shocked at how such a promising young man could now be accused of such a heinous crime.

Dowdell, 22, was a sophomore at ASU who was studying to become a special education teacher, his mom said. He was last seen Tuesday, Sept. 8 when he left his dorm room to go to an ATM.

Not long before he was found, Cohill did a media interview on the ASU campus, pleading for help in finding her son.

“I didn’t realize my child was two blocks away from me on the ground,” she later said as she wiped away tears.

Dowdell had been fatally shot, his body found less than a quarter mile from campus, six days after he’d gone missing.

Photos of Hall began to circulate on social media after Dowdell had been found, identifying him as the last person seen with him.

Two days later, Cohill posted to Facebook that Hall had been caught.

“They got him! They got him! When I tell y’all God is awesome, he is awesome. He is all the time. I won’t miss a court date,” she wrote above two photos: one of her son and the other of Hall, his alleged killer. The post was shared over 1,000 times.

It is unclear when, but by Thursday morning, Hall’s social media accounts had been deactivated and his phone disconnected.

On Thursday night, Dowdell’s family organized a vigil to honor his life.

“Make sure the person you call your friend, is really your friend,” Cohill advised the young people in the crowd. Her son’s killers, she continued, were able to turn off the location on his phone and clear it’s data.

At some point, Hall left Montgomery and went to Chicago, although Pfleger said he wasn’t sure when. The two met on Monday — the same day Dowdell’s body was found — Pfleger said.

He said afterward he made some calls and discovered Montgomery police officials were looking to speak with Hall and, “I immediately suggested to Ivry that he go back and talk to them.”

Despite word that Hall was already in custody Wednesday, Selma-based attorney Brandon Wooten said he walked his client in the front door of the Montgomery Detention Facility on Friday to turn himself in, which was confirmed by MPD.

“Our sincere condolences are with the Dowdell family. Although his death was tragic, we are confident that as the investigation progresses the truth will be revealed and the innocence of my client will prevail,” Wooten wrote in a release about the case.

“Ivry Hall is a good kid and excellent student.” he continued.

When Pfleger said all signs indicated Hall hadn’t gone awry from his goals, Pfleger pointed to his attendance at church every Sunday over the summer while he was back home and that St. Sabina had given Hall a scholarship each semester since he started at ASU, which required he maintain a B average.

The owner of Chicago’s Crushers Club, Sally Hazelgrove, said Hall spent the summer working at her boxing gym, a place he has given credit to for having turned his life around and where he is known to mentor the younger athletes.

But also this summer, Hall was arrested and charged with domestic battery. According to Chicago Police records, Hall allegedly damaged the personal property of an 18-year-old female and punched her with a closed fist in June.

“My main concern now is to try and get to the bottom of what all went on down there,” Pfleger said. “The truth, the facts, all the information — I don’t know what all of that is, but my job is just to do two things. Number one, pray for that family down there and to let Ivry know no matter what the outcome of this is and what the facts are, we still love him and care about him.”

Hall’s bond was set at $250,000. As of Tuesday afternoon, a court hearing hadn’t been set.