UPPER DARBY, Pa. – Khalief Webster, a 16-year-old sophomore at Upper Darby High School, was fatally shot in May after what appeared to be an argument with another teen. Webster’s devastated family is speaking out after honoring him on what would have been his 17th birthday.
A family in pain:
It’s been two months since 16-year-old boy, Khalief Webster, was shot and killed just a short walk from his home in Upper Darby, according to Upper Darby Township Police.
His mother, Talaya Shaw, says the teen was known for his smile, love for his family, friends, and sports, and strong work ethic. She says she’s fully surrendered to her faith to keep going without him, along with her four other children.
“It’s always been us, very tight-knit, close, stick together, love on one another, sit at the dinner table, eat dinner together, do homework together,” she says. “To quote his grandmom – that bullet didn’t just kill Khalief, it shattered our entire family.”
The backstory:
On Sunday, May 18, around 3:00 p.m., police say Webster rode his bike from his home on Pine Street down to Long Lane, something his mom said he did often with kids in the neighborhood. Investigators say surveillance video captured him with Michael Nixon, 17, a teenager who was not known to Khalief or his family, according to Shaw.
“Khalief was here, and then 15 minutes later, it was him never coming back home.”
Court documents say in the video, a person believed to be Nixon says, “You that young boy I seen the other day? You better not be.” Documents say he said something muffled, then there is a gunshot. The video shows the shooter, police identified as Nixon, putting what is believed to be a firearm in his waistband and then calling someone on the phone, saying, “I just shoot somebody in their chest, bro.”
“If he entrusted someone enough to call them after he told them that he shot someone, he could have entrusted someone to give him a ride to where he was going, if he thought that he needed a loaded gun to get to where he was going,” says Shaw. “It’s just overall senseless. This did not have to happen. He set out to kill and he destroyed our family; he destroyed our family.”
Big picture view:
Police have not released a motive. They said Nixon turned himself in in the days after they released photos of him following Khalief’s murder.
Shaw says Khalief’s heartbroken father, two older siblings, two younger siblings, and close extended family, just celebrated what would have been his 17th birthday. She says she trusts the system but says teenagers carrying and using guns cannot be normalized.
“Those were your intentions, those were your intentions, so I think that would be my only question. Why? Why, why?” she asked.
What’s next:
Nixon waived his preliminary hearing on July 18th. An arraignment is scheduled for September 3rd.