Elijah Okello was a former child soldier for the Lord's Resistance Army of Uganda.
History[]
Elijah was abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army, who brutally killed his mother in front of him and then recruited them into their ranks as a child soldier. He spent eleven years killing countless civilians. When he turned nineteen, Elijah fled Uganda and immigrated to the U.S. There, he became a volunteer for a church in Staten Island, New York City, where he befriended Miriam Burdett, a Ugandan sex slave who had been victimized by the LRA.
One day, Miriam re-encountered her former owner, Joseph Serumaga, a commander for the LRA known as The Devil of Gulu. After deducing where he lived, she told Elijah to kill him, and he agreed. The two went to Serumaga's apartment and Elijah left Miriam alone in a bodega store. She was later attacked by Serumaga, who slit her throat and left her for dead. However, she survived her injury.
Elijah was later suspected in committing the attack and later evaded Detectives Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson when they arrived at his apartment to interview him. He was later tracked down to a local library where he was staying at and arrested. While being interrogated by Stabler, he opened up about his experiences with the LRA and Uganda. Stabler came to pity him and prayed with him in order to get him to confess. Though he proclaimed his innocence in Miriam's attack, he confessed he had gone out to kill Serumaga, whose nickname was only known to him.
Serumaga is later tracked down and arrested, while Elijah is released. Later, it was revealed to Stabler that Elijah will be deported alongside Serumaga because he was still serving under the LRA when he was eighteen, making him completely responsible for his actions. When he was informed of this by immigration agents, Elijah panicked, seized one of their guns, and held everyone inside his church hostage. He was talked down by Stabler, but upon spotting a crowd of reporters outside, he rushed them and was subsequently shot. Before dying, Elijah tells Miriam that he did it to ensure everyone would be aware of the ordeal of child soldiers.
Known Victims[]
- Killed numerous unnamed victims during his time with the Lord's Resistance Army
- Joseph Serumaga (assaulted)
- The church standoff:
- Father Theo Burdett (held hostage; nearly suffered a heart attack from the incident)
- Miriam Burdett (held hostage)
- Twelve unnamed children (all held hostage)
- Detective Elliot Stabler (held hostage)
- Detective Odafin Tutuola (held hostage)