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DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA)– A Decatur mother has a message for the community after her son was brutally murdered; Stop the violence.
Tonight family and friends released hundreds of balloons to honor 15-year-old Tyler Eubanks, who was stabbed to death on Sunday.
“This is a nightmare I wish I could wake up from,” said Dionica Eubanks, Tyler’s mother. “That smile right there, I’ll never get the chance to see it again.”
It was an agonizing cry for a mother’s baby boy gone too soon.
“Never in a million years would I ever think in my life that that would be my son,” said Eubanks.
She says her son was kind, funny, goofy, and loved playing basketball and video games.
“He had not come home, that’s not like him so I started getting worried,” said Eubanks.
Decatur Police Chief, Shane Brandel says police were called for a wellness check at an abandoned building on the 400 Block of West Harrison. When they got there, they found Tyler stabbed to death. Police believe at least two other 15-year-olds planned out Tyler’s murder and lured him to the building.
“The whole time I was looking for my baby he was right here, he was right here,” said Eubanks.
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Police arrested two suspects, but the Eubanks are left with the question, ‘Why did this happen?’ Chief Brandel wants to know the same thing.
“It’s really sad and I can’t even comprehend it,” said Chief Brandel.
Brandel says he has dealt with dozens of murder investigations involving children, but this one felt different. Especially because he says the suspects weren’t known to be involved in gun violence.
“Which is really kinda interesting to us I guess to go where they were at to go where they went to a pretty brutal murder is really shocking,” said Chief Brandel.
So while dozens of people gathered at the site where Eubanks son was murdered, with balloons in hand, they listened to her plea.
“We have got to get this city together, because if we don’t we’re going to keep burring our babies, we’re going to keep burring them y’all, the cemetery is going to overflow,” said Eubanks.
She begged for parents to know where their kids are and who they hang out with. She also asked that the young men drop the weapons and stop all the fighting and arguing. And after lots of prayers and tears, they all released hundreds of balloons in Tyler’s memory, hoping that soon, they will have answers.
The Eubanks are asking for any donation, big or small, to help pay for funeral expenses. If you would like to donate, click here.
