Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County - A Luzerne County community continues to mourn the death of a 14 year old boy who was shot and killed on the streets of Wilkes-Barre Thursday. Sunday, Tyler Winsteads' church family held a moment of silence in his honor, but his pastor says this is only the beginning of their outreach.
Easter Sunday is meant to be a day of celebration, but for members of the Mount Zion Baptist Church in Wilkes-Barre it was the first time they were able to come together to remember a teenager they loved so much.
Trisha Tebron taught 14 year old Tyler Winstead in Sunday school, "My heart was broken. Why him just like, why?" She remembers him as pleasant, respectful and always on the go, but on Thursday, Winstead was shot and killed while walking on Hill Street, just blocks from both his home and church. The gunman is still on the loose. Now his community is hoping to come together to fight back against a senseless crime.
Mount Zion Pastor Michael Brewster says, "We're going to make it very hard for folks who are trying to disturb the peace, trying to take peace away from folks in this community, to the point where they see they are the ones missing out."
Pastor Brewster held a moment of silence and prayer for Tyler and his family during his Easter Sunday service. He is also helping to lead what he calls a love revolution. Pastor Brewster says he is trying to make some good come out of something so evil. He and city leaders have plans to meet on Thursday to talk about how they can peacefully fight back against increasing crime activity in Wilkes-Barre, "What this has done is really caused us to think a little but more aggressively as to how we are going to promote community in a more aggressive way."
Neighbors say it's just unfortunate it took something like this to finally get the ball rolling, "We need to watch out for each other. It takes a community to raise a child and we need all of Wilkes-Barre to have their eyes out for our little people. It's sad that something bad had to happen for us to react," explains Tebron.
Funeral services for Tyler Winstead are scheduled for Wednesday.
