“After I seen that mugshot final night time, I assumed to myself, ‘My goodness, he is only a child.'”
Ophelia Nichols, the Alabama TikTok star whose son Randon Lee was killed in a capturing again in June, is feeling for the household of one of many males charged in his homicide following his arrest.
On Thursday, 20-year-old Reuben Gulley turned himself into authorities on a homicide cost, after a warrant was issued for his arrest earlier this month.
Arrest made in killing of native TikTok star’s son https://t.co/gxzZuRpRCy
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At this level, it is unclear whether or not authorities suspect Gulley of capturing Lee or driving the getaway automotive, after the 18-year-old was killed whereas allegedly dealing medication to the 2 suspects at a Prichard, AL gasoline station.
In response to Fox 10, Gulley was denied bond throughout a listening to on Friday and is being held on the Cellular County Metro Jail. An arraignment is about for subsequent Tuesday.
On Friday, Nichols — who is called Mama Tot on TikTok — shared a pair of movies reacting to each Gulley’s arrest and different TikTok stars who rushed up their very own movies in regards to the replace earlier than she even commented on it publicly.
“I’d have beloved to get on right here final night time and say, ‘Guess what?’ however sadly, the information and different folks did not enable that,” she started in her first video to her 8.5 million followers.
“I am getting 100 messages saying you should be so completely happy proper now and I’m not. I’m not completely happy. When conditions like this occur or different traumatic conditions, I take a look at every little thing, I do not simply take a look at this and decide or an opinion, I take a look at every little thing,” she continued. “And once I seen that mugshot final night time, I assumed to myself, my goodness, he is only a child. He is only a child.”
“Then I seen feedback from his lecturers that mentioned, ‘I taught him in highschool and he was a stunning younger man.’ I guess he was. I guess he was,” she went on. “That simply made me suppose, inside 11 seconds, he decided to only throw his life away. And there is one factor that he and my child baby had in widespread and that’s that they each had a mom that might do completely something for them. I am positive they’ve that in widespread.”
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TikTok Star Pleads to Her 7.5 Million Followers for Assist Catching Son’s Killers After He is Gunned Down In Alabama
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“So bear in mind this, there’s now two households which are hurtin’. Two of us,” she added. “And people mother and father should not undergo one thing that their baby did simply in addition to I should not undergo for one thing my youngsters have executed.”
Nichols then talked about among the different individuals who have “damage me actually large” since her son’s homicide first made headlines, saying so many individuals have made “such horrible feedback about my child baby.”
“I assumed, ‘Why? You do not even know him. You do not even know him.’ After which I assumed final night time, ‘Lord, I hope [the suspect’s mother] do not undergo that. I do not want that on anyone. That was actually arduous for me. Neither of one among our youngsters ought to have been there that night time, neither one among them.”
Whereas she mentioned she hopes there’s “justice” in her son’s dying, she reiterated that “there are two households damage” on this scenario, “not simply me.” She additionally acknowledged that there are numerous different households in her city “that ain’t by no means acquired justice.”
In a followup publish shared later within the day, Nichols reacted to different TikTok creators tagging her in their very own response movies to the arrest. She defined that she knew for a few week and a half that an arrest warrant had been issued, however did not know Gulley had turned himself in till a reporter referred to as her asking for a remark. She mentioned that after she acquired off the cellphone, she heard from a detective who confirmed the information after which went to TikTok to create a video, solely to see others had already churned out their very own in regards to the information.
“My child kid’s life is not a humorous gossip story that occurred in a humorous small city a month in the past that we are able to giggle about it immediately … that is my kid’s life. And my baby was murdered,” she mentioned, upset about how others had jumped to create content material round his dying.
She concluded her video by admitted that possibly she was “getting mad in regards to the incorrect factor.”
On the time of his dying, Prichard Police Division Detective Jason Hadaway mentioned that Randon was “promoting narcotics” to 2 people who they’d recognized as suspects within the case. Per Hadaway, the suspects had been seen in surveillance video getting inside Lee’s car at a gasoline station, earlier than one shot was fired and the suspects left with a handgun.
Cops say Lee tried to “attempt to escape the people” by driving his car to a different gasoline station throughout the road after being shot. Paramedics had been referred to as, however he died on the scene.
Hadaway mentioned Lee was promoting marijuana and authorities discovered narcotics in his car.