Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliot is giving one final gift to a fan. According to multiple outlets, Elliot will pay for the funeral expenses of Jaylon McKenzie, an eighth-grade football player who was shot and killed while leaving a party near St. Louis last weekend.

According to Illinois State Police, McKenzie, 14, was struck by a stray bullet while attending a party in Venice and died shortly after at an area hospital. A 15-year-old girl whose name was not released was also hit and remains in critical condition, according to a statement from the Illinois State Police.

McKenzie’s mother, Sukeena Gunner, of Belleville, said her son attended the party with friends after an eighth-grade dance and was told that he was trying to leave when a fight broke out. She said the party was supervised by the home owner, who called the police and stopped the party as soon as the fight broke out.

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Elliott, who grew up in St. Louis, reached out to the family shortly after the tragedy. The Cowboys confirmed Elliott's gesture, but the running back wanted to keep the matter between him and McKenzie's family.

“Zeke is really a special guy,” coach Jason Garrett said Wednesday at the team's sponsors' golf tournament at Cowboys Golf Club. “He's a great football player obviously, but he's a really good person and that doesn't surprise me one bit.

“He’s someone that a lot of people look up to,” Garrett continued. “Anybody who’s been around him on a daily basis knows what kind of person he is.”