Vigil held for young man killed in Officer Involved Shooting in Mount Pleasant
Sunday evening, loved ones gathered near 24th and Racine Street in Mount Pleasant where 18-year-old Tyrese West was shot and killed by police early Saturday morning.
“He was a great kid,” Morgan Bebow, West’s friend, said. “Always making jokes. Always just the life of the party.”
Family and friends came together, saying a prayer, chanting, and lighting candles in his memory.
“It hurts to know that I don’t get to see him anymore,” Lasadez West, West’s Cousin, said.
Police say West was riding his bike around 1:30 a.m. when Mount Pleasant Police confronted him and he took off.
Police chased him and officers noticed West was armed.
“Sometimes people make mistakes, but he had his whole life ahead of him to turn that around, but they took that away from him he didn’t have a chance,” Bebow said.
Police say they tried to get West to comply but he was not cooperating, so they had to use their guns.
Despite life saving measures, West did not survive.
West’s mother and father were both at the vigil.
“They shouldn’t be able to fire their weapon and take somebody life until they are fired at,” Dwight Person, West’s Father, said.
Racine Police are now leading the investigation into this officer involved shooting and what led up to shots being fired.