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Detroit mother feels familiar grief as she loses 2nd son to gun violence in just over 2 years

Posted at 6:52 PM, May 04, 2022
and last updated 2022-05-04 19:11:27-04

DETROIT (WXYZ) — Markeila Parker had just left her oldest son's home when she got a devastating phone call from one of her other children.

"He said, 'Ma, Tyrone's been shot.' I said, 'Oh, Lord Jesus," Markeila said.

Markeila was devastated, stunned by more of the pain she's already had to endure since Dec. 13, 2019 when her 19-year-old son Tymarian was shot and killed not far from home.

Detroit police said the shooter chased Tymarian and some of his friends and fatally shot the teen shortly after he left a party store on Lafayette Street.

At the time, Tymarian's older brother Tyrone believed it was all because they refused to buy marijuana from the suspect.

The suspect's image was caught on surveillance cameras and in early 2020, a man named Delmahn Alford was arrested and charged with Tymarian's murder.

Two years later, Alford's case is still pending after his defense attorney requested a competency examination. He's due back in court later this month.

"That wait has been like a nightmare to me," Markeila told 7 Action News Tuesday.

And the wait was getting to be a lot for Tymarian's oldest brother, Tyrone.

"He was getting angry and I kept telling him it's going to be OK, we're going to get justice," she said.

But Tyrone will never see the outcome of the case against his brother's suspected killer.

On April 21, Tyrone was fatally shot in his own home at Brewster Homes apartments in Detroit during what may have been a robbery.

Detroit Police say they're confident they'll arrest those responsible for Tyrone's killing, bringing justice to a mother who has already been through so much.

"Now I have to bury another child due to gun violence," Markeila said. "I'm tired. I can't take any more."

Tyrone leaves behind two young sons ages 4 and 1.

Markeila has started a GoFundMe account to help raise money to cover the costs of Tyrone's funeral.