'He was pure joy': Tyvon Marco Henderson died in a hail of gunfire and his family wants to know why
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A local family is searching for answers as police investigate the shooting of their loved one.
Tyvon Marco Henderson was killed down in a barrage of gunfire in their West Garfield Park neighborhood. CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot has their story.
Tyvon Marco Henderson's loved ones said he was committed to expressing himself and living life to the fullest.
"Everybody that was around him, just loved him," said his mother Latesha Thompson.
"He always had a smile. He greeted you with a smile," added his aunt Catherine Thompson. "He was pure joy."
Henderson's family said he was a drag performer known as Lea Marie, a singer and social media content creator. His aunt said Henderson auditioned several times for the show, RuPaul's Drag Race and was part of Chicago's LGBTQ community.
"He was definitely a rising star and he was amazing with what he does. He worked really hard," Catherine Thompson said.
Henderson had just left his job at Walmart and got home around 11:30 Wednesday night on the 4000 block of W. Wilcox in the West Garfield Park neighborhood. He went to his car a few minutes after 1:00 a.m. on Thursday. His family thinks Henderson forget a cellphone in his Honda.
"That's when the bullets started flying and started coming through my gate and it killed my son," said Latesha Thompson.
At least 17 bullets went through a privacy gate. A bullet left a gaping hole in the hood of this car that was also in the parking lot. A dark colored SUV was caught on a nearby camera in the alley, just before the shots were fired.
Right after that dark colored SUV went east, down an alley, people in the community heard at least 20 shots ring out. Tyvon was shot, seven times.
The Virginia Union University graduate's family said they just want answers. Did the person in the SUV see anything? Was the vehicle involved in some way?
"Was a car looking for someone else and maybe it was mistaken identity," said Catherine Thompson. "We just want the truth. We just want to know what happened We just want anyone who knows anything to say something."
In a photo, Henderson is seen with his grandmother before she died last October from COVID-19. The family is still dealing with her funeral expenses. His brother set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for Henderson's funeral.
"It should have been any other way except gun violence. Like I shouldn't. I can't wrap my brain around it. I just can't," lamented his brother Tyshawn Jones.