Posted 11:08 am Friday, July 30, 2010
Accused Teen's Family Seeking More Details About Attention Center Shooting
By MICHELE REESE
KYTX CBS19
Family members of a teen accused of shooting at an officer at Smith County Juvenile Attention Center last the weekend say they are standing behind their son.
KYTX CBS19
Family members of a teen accused of shooting at an officer at Smith County Juvenile Attention Center last the weekend say they are standing behind their son.
"That is somebody's child. He's not a thug and a criminal. He has parents who love him," the teen's mother said.
The parents and grandmother of the 16-year-old traveled from Missouri to Tyler.
"We have traveled over 548 miles and I'll travel 548 more. I would give a leg and arm for my son," the mother said. "I won't stop until questions are answered."
Tyler Police said they cannot comment on the investigation because it is ongoing.
His mother, who wants to conceal her identity, said she wants to know what happened after her son got off a Greyhound bus in Tyler Friday night. She said she had asked police to pick him up because he ran away to see his girlfriend.
"I had contacted the police department for my city and they contacted Tyler police and said his mother needs to have him picked up because she believes he had run away," she said.
But she said when police got there, procedures weren't followed. Tyler police admit they searched the teen, but never searched his bag -- a bag that police said was carrying the gun the teen used in the shooting.
"My son was not properly searched," she said. "It starts off with the Tyler Police Department and it ends with the detention center."
She said she's still not sure how her son got a gun or if he had one at all. She said it's hard to believe a gun could make it past Tyler police and officers at the Juvenile Attention Center.
"As far as the system, it failed," she said.
She said she and her husband won't leave Tyler until they get the truth. She said that's been hard to find.
She said she and her husband won't leave Tyler until they get the truth. She said that's been hard to find.
The teen was supposed to have a court date Thursday, but that was postponed.
Meanwhile, he remains behind bars at the Juvenile Attention Center charged with aggravated assault on a peace officer and possessing a deadly weapon in a penal institution.
