Police say Tyrone Howard was found shot inside his car after it crashed last Sunday. His 14-month-old daughter, Amira, was in the backseat but was not hurt.
PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — The family of a 21-year-old man shot and killed in St. Petersburg is speaking out as police continue to search for suspects.
Police say Tyrone Howard was found shot inside his car after it crashed on Emerson Avenue South around 2 p.m. last Sunday. His 14-month-old daughter, Amira, was in the backseat but was not hurt.
Howard’s fiancé, Makayla Graham, says the little girl doesn’t understand what happened — only that her dad is suddenly gone.
“She has moments where she’s asking for her Dada,” Graham said.
Makayla says she is also expecting the couple’s second child, a son she plans to name after his father.
“You took away a father of two beautiful babies, one unborn, hasn’t even met him. You broke a family,” she said.
Howard’s mother, Melissa Jackson, says the family is holding tight to memories and determined to make sure his children grow up knowing who their father was.
“There’s going to be plenty of pictures, stories, family time, love,” Jackson said.
She also had a message for the person responsible.
“Nobody should want a mother standing here in pain,” she said. “You always have a choice. Before you pull that trigger, you have a choice.”
For now, Graham says her focus is on raising Amira and her unborn son, Tyrone Howard III, and making sure they know how much their dad loved them.
“She was the light of his life,” Graham said. “He was so excited for his son.”
Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact them. They say no detail is too small.
The family has also started a GoFundMe to support Makayla and her children.