An Alabama teen was fatally shot nearly 12 years after his father was gunned down in a still-unsolved slaying, according to a report.
Desmon Antwuan McGuire, 17, was shot in the back as he tried to flee from a gunman in a vehicle in Birmingham on Tuesday — some 11 years and 9 months after his father, Brandon McGuire, 23, was shot dead as he stood outside a home in the city, AL.com reported.
“I wish it would stop,” Desmon’s mother, Debra McGuire, told outlet. “It’s not fair to the families. It’s not fair to my other children. It’s not fair to me. It’s a pain you can’t describe.”
Investigators believe three suspects opened fire on Desmon, who died in front of his 16-year-old sister.
“He was pleading for me to get home,” said Debra, a US Army veteran. “He was telling me to hurry up and get to him, but I didn’t make it in time.”
The teen was shot in the foot just one month earlier as he stood in front of the family’s apartment, his mother said, adding that she believes it “could be the same guys.”
Birmingham police said Wednesday a preliminary investigation shows Desmon was shot following a “verbal dispute” with the suspect. A person of interest was detained for questioning, but no arrests had been made, police said.
Meanwhile, Debra said her family was still reeling from her husband’s slaying in August 2009. No arrests were made in the shooting, in which gunmen sprayed bullets between two houses, according to the report.
“None of us ever got over their dad’s death,” Debra said. “Desmon was the one that was very serious. He didn’t talk about it, but he was hurting. The older he got, the more the pain and hurt started to show. He wanted answers about what happened to his dad.”
A message seeking comment from a Birmingham police spokesman was not immediately returned early Thursday.
Desmon attended Bessemer City High School, where he was enrolled in a program to help him graduate.
“He wanted to do better, and he wanted to make something out of his life,” his mother said. “He gave me a hug, told me he loved me and he was going to make me proud.”
The distraught mother is now holding onto the hope that Desmon’s homicide won’t go unsolved.
“I just want to have faith in the justice system, in the detectives,” Debra told AL.com. “I feel like I’ve been failed once. Please bring them to justice. He deserves it.”
