PETERSBURG, Va. (WRIC) — A Petersburg family is desperately searching for answers after their 15 year old son, Tyjuan Crenshaw II, was shot and killed on Saturday.
Petersburg Police say it happened just after 8:30pm in the 300 block of Crestfall Court, inside the Lieutenants Run apartment complex. When officers arrived, they found Crenshaw with several gunshot wounds in a breezeway. He died at the scene.
“He was one of the greatest kids you could ever ask for,” said Tyjuan Crenshaw Sr, the victim’s father. “Our energy was like no other.”
In an emotional interview, Crenshaw Sr. remembered his son, who the community called “Mistro,” as a kid who ‘lived a young kid’s dream.”
“We hunted, we fished, we rode ATV’s, we did everything together,” he said. “It’s just sad that all that talent is just could’ve beens now.”
As of Tuesday, no suspect is in custody for this shooting, but the Petersburg Police Department is investigating.
The Crenshaw family says they have connections to the complex where this happened, but it’s unclear why Tyjuan was there that night.
“I was calling him prior to that saying ‘I’m up here at a crime scene. Answer your phone, so I know you’re safe.’ But he never answered, and that was the hardest because he always answers his phone.”
While this family grapples with the grim reality that their son was murdered, they’re urging the community to stop gun violence.
“Every time you drop a body, you’re dropping 100 to 200 other family members at the same time because you’re killing the whole family,” Crenshaw Sr. said. “People love their kids. People invest in their kids. Stop cheating people out their kids.”
Crenshaw II will be laid to rest on Friday.
During the investigation, a second juvenile was taken to the hospital with head trauma and is in critical condition.
Police are asking for anyone with information to contact Petersburg/Dinwiddie Crime Solvers at 804-861-1212.
