CINCINNATI — Dozens of people gathered on Hutchins Avenue at the spot where 14-year-old Tyquon Jones-Alexander was shot and killed to mourn his death, call for change and demand a shift in the way young people are living to ensure they aren't next.
Jones-Alexander's aunt, Tammy Chappell, yelled at the group of boys and girls gathered around her as she pointed at the bloodstain on the sidewalk.
"When they say come home? Come home," she said. "There's nothing out here but this and jail."
She told them she was worried that it would only be a matter of weeks before she was back out on Hutchins mourning them as well.
"This street is on fire," Chappell said. "Every time I ride past, there's a death."
Jones-Alexander's mom was too emotional to do an interview with us, but she addressed the crowd, calling for them to prevent violence as well.
"I told you all I didn't want to see this," she said. "For none of you all, I didn't want to see this."
After a balloon release in his honor, Jones-Alexander's aunt, Tawana Crawford, told us she would remember the boy as a lover of football who was always making people laugh.
She said his smile will live on with her forever.
"That smile will get you," Crawford said. "He comes into the room, it'll brighten everybody's day."
Crawford said her nephew's death was a call that change needs to be made.
"We need more men out here directing these young black men or white men to a job," she said.
She also had a message for the person who pulled the trigger.
"If you know what happened to my nephew, please come forward. If you can't talk to us, go to the police station and tell them what you did. You know you're not doing anything right because it’s eating you up inside," Crawford said.
If you'd like to stay anonymous, you can give tips to Crime Stoppers at (513) 352-3040.
