OCALA, Fla. – Marion County deputies are looking for whoever shot a man Monday evening.
Tylique Le’John Christie, 18, was found shot along the 4400 block of NW 22nd Ave. near Rosemere Flats, an apartment complex in Ocala, at 6 p.m.
Christie was taken to a hospital where he later died.
Detectives believe the deadly shooting was isolated.
This comes days after deputies said they found a 17-year-old, identified as Lezarius “Lee” Graham, dead in a wooded area in the 2100 block of NW 43rd St., a minute away from where Christie was found shot. Deputies said there is no evidence at this time to suggest the two shootings are connected.
Christie’s aunt, Chenora Adje-Christie, told News 6 that she got a call from her sister after the shooting happened. Both of them cried after learning about his death.
“It’s like my child was ripped away from me, so it’s been very difficult...” she said. “You hear people talk about their story, losing a loved one, but it’s very different when you lose someone that is so important and vital in the family.”
She hasn’t been eating or sleeping, though she’s spent her time trying to help her children cope.
“I have nightmares all the time, thinking about what his last moments were — what was he thinking about? Did he know his family loved him? Did he know how much we cared about him?” she said. “Was it painful? Did he pray? Did he ask for his mother? Did he ask for his father?”
Adje-Christie added that people are being reactive — not proactive — in dealing with the shooting deaths happening in Marion County.
“We are not finding the systematic issues that’s going on in the community, trying to figure out what is going on with our youth,” she said.
If you have any information regarding Christie’s death, you’re asked to call Det. Daniel Pinder at 352-368-3508, or Crime Stoppers of Marion County at 352-368-STOP (7867) and reference 23-36 in your tip.
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