It was a seemingly ordinary Saturday evening when 16-year-old Tyson “TJ” Harps Jr., full of promise and pride, set off from his Bronx home to hang out with friends in Brooklyn. Less than two hours later, his life was cut brutally short. His final message to his mother — a quick “Ma, I’m good” at 7:21 p.m. — ended up being his last. Just after 8:45 p.m., he was struck down by gunfire on Eastern Parkway near Rochester Avenue in the heart of Crown Heights.
Police say the teen was found lying on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound to the head. The scene, just outside an apartment building at 1196 Eastern Parkway, revealed nine shell casings, but the motive, the shooter and the reason remain unknown. Investigators describe the suspect as a masked male last seen in a black jacket, gray sweatpants and white sneakers. As of now, no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
Behind the grim facts, however, is the portrait of a young man who had quietly borne responsibility beyond his years. His mother remembers him as a steady protector — taking over cooking when she was ill, stepping in for his siblings, always looking out for others. In her words, “he felt like he had to be the protector.” His youngest siblings now grieve a brother who never got to graduate high school, while his mother wrestles with the unimaginable task of burying her firstborn child.
The worst part came when she arrived at the scene and found her son’s body still covered beneath a sheet, under police tape. Hours later, she sat at the morgue and identified him. “It felt like I was in a nightmare,” she said through tears. But when she saw his body, she knew all too clearly the horror was real. “My heart left my body. My soul has not returned.”
In the days since, the family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover funeral and memorial costs, while his mother pleads for anyone with information to step forward. “If you’ve seen something, say something,” she implored. “Help me and my family find peace. My son deserves justice.” Neighbors say they heard three gunshots ring out that night. The local children, meanwhile, face the hard truth that the young man who cared for them is gone.
This tragedy has ripped the community of Crown Heights to its core — another name added to the growing list of lives cut short in senseless gun violence. Tyson’s family described him as kind, full of promise, a big brother who made sure his younger siblings were okay, a son who handled so much. They are now left asking why, and how the world keeps letting it happen.
Though his life ended far too soon, Tyson “TJ” Harps Jr. remains forever loved and forever remembered — a bright light extinguished too early, in the silence of a street corner, in the stillness of a mother’s grief.