Police say a mom was killed by her own son who shot her four times in the head in front of her husband and younger son. Prosecutors say that Tatanisha Jackson was at the family home in South Shore, Chicago, on Saturday afternoon when Davion Pryer, 17, opened fire in front of his dad and younger brother.
Investigators say Davion called his mom 10 minutes earlier and said there were drunk people on their back porch. He had just picked up his younger brother with his dad. Jackson was shot in the head right in front of her as she opened her front door.
The police caught Davion in the 7000 block of South Cottage Grove the same day, just before 10 p.m. He will be tried as an adult for killing someone in the first degree.
Community and courts were shocked by the crime. Judge David Kelly, who called it a tragedy, could barely hold back his tears while he was in charge and had to take a few minutes to calm down.
“This is very sad and tragic to this court…” Kelly told me. “The unprovoked shooting and killing of your mother in front of your father and brother.”
Jackson went to Cornell Avenue in the South Shore area where she lived after her son called and opened the door. Pryor, who was on the other side of the door, swung it open and shot her four times in the head, killing her instantly.
His father and brother, who is 7, were just a few inches away when the mother was shot. Their parents had just picked them up from school. Detectives say that the dad quickly picked up his son and called 911 while hearing more gunshots.
People in the area were alerted by the noise, including a man who had just gotten off work and heard more than a dozen gunshots. “So everything was calm, and then all of a sudden shots were fired,” Ronald Jackson said. “It sounds like eight shots.” “No, that wasn’t gunshots,” I thought after the eight shots. Then there were six more.”
Jackson said he knew the pictures of the dead mother that were going around on social media. “I’ve seen her a few times.” I’m sorry to hear that. It’s sad that so many people are dying in this place. “It just happens every day, every year,” he said. “So I feel sorry for their family.”
After some time, police arrived and found Jackson’s body covered in shooting wounds all over the head and body. They also said that a gun and about 12 empty shell casings were discovered at the scene. The mom was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, but she did not make it.
Jackson died and left behind her husband, two other kids, and an older stepdaughter. Judge Kelly said that Pryor would stay in jail because he said the attack was not justifiable and wasn’t caused by anything. The teen who was caught is set to go to court on Friday, September 28.
Prosecutors say Pryor is still facing two cases in youth court for aggravated battery and taking someone else’s car. His court date was Oct. 3, and he was being held at home at the time of the killing.