CBS4 Exclusive: Mother Of Teen Shot In Miami Drive-By Speaks Out For First Time
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MIAMI (CBSMiami)—-For the first time, the mother of a 14-year-old boy who was one of two teenagers wounded in a drive-by is speaking out.
Tateanna Price did not want to show all of her face, but in an exclusive interview with CBS4's Peter D'Oench, says she is breaking her silence because she cannot believe what happened to her son Demarcus Cook.
She is asking for help from the community.
Demarcus is the half-brother of former star Florida State Seminoles current Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook.
"I am very sad," she said. "There is no expression for something like this. I am at a depressed stage. I don't know why this happened or why he was shot or who was being targeted. All he wanted to do was play basketball and that's what he was doing when he and his friend were shot by some people. I keep hearing from multiple sources that those shooters are between 15 and 18 and were wearing masks and there were three of them."
"We need to do something about this crime," she said. "This is sad. I want to say that people should come forward. And as a community we need to come together. Because you know this could be your child next time. It could be anybody's child. You don't want anything to happen to your child and you need to help out. This violence needs to stop. Our kids need to get an education and stop this."
"My son still has half a bullet in his chest and he is very nervous about what happened," she said. "I hope people who know something will come forward. This is very important. We need help with this case."
City of Miami Police detectives are also asking the public for any information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the drive-by shooting of the two teenagers last Thursday night.
Sadly, it is the second time in a year that Cook's family has been victimized in a drive-by shooting.
Just last year, Dalvin Cook's uncle Anthony Jones, a running back for Florida International Univeristy, was one of two of FIU players wounded in a drive-by in Opa-locka. Jones was in a medically-induced come for a while.
This latest shooting happened just before 9 p.m. Thursday outside an apartment building at the corner of Northwest 3rd Avenue and 56th Street.
Family members identified the victims as 14-year-old Demarcus Cook, who is a 9th grader at Miami Northwestern High School, and 16-year-old Arquaylin Taylor, who is a 10th grader at Miami Edison High school.
Taylor's mother told D'Oench that she too did not want to talk on camera but she said her son was shot in both arms and has recovered feeling in those arms.
He remains hospitalized at the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
"My son is doing better," she said.
Cook's mother said Taylor needed emergency surgery on Friday morning.
Witnesses are urged to come forward.
Anyone with information that can help Miami Police should call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).
