Miami Gardens Grandmother Asks For Help To Find Son's, Grandson's Killer
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A grandmother is asking for help finding whoever shot and killed her son and young grandson.
"I'm heartbroken. I'm angry. I'm sad," Tamesa Willis-Reid.
Hezekiah Mucherson should've been celebrating his birthday Saturday, July 27th.
"I have my ups and downs. It's almost two months. But sometimes it feels like it just happened yesterday," Willis-Reid said.
For the first time, Willis-Reid is speaking about losing her grandson and her son moments after they left her home. Hezekiah was shot and killed along with his dad, 31-year-old Lavel Mucherson. It happened Sunday evening on June 2nd in Miami Gardens along Northwest 37th Avenue and 2017 Street.
"It was a double heartbreak. That was my son's only child," Willis-Reid said.
Miami Gardens police officers believe someone intended to kill Mucherson. It's still unclear why.
Police said whoever is responsible drove next to his pick-up and opened fire. Investigators also say they found a semi-automatic rifle and two handguns in Mucherson's truck.
"I did not want him to come back home. This was something I feared," she said.
Police say Mucherson was a shooting victim in 2009 and 2011. His mother says after a second-degree murder charge was dropped in 2014, he moved to Atlanta for a new start. But he still visited South Florida to be with his son.
"He loved his son. He always wanted to be here for Hezekiah," Willis-Reid said.
The Miami Gardens grandmother is now worried over a culture of silence.
"If that would've happened to your child or your grandchild, would you want someone to speak up? I think that's the major problem," Willis-Reid said. "Even if you feel that you don't want to do it for the adult, there was a seven-year-old boy in the car, his life just started."
If you have any tips to help this family find closure, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS.