DALLAS – A young teen is being held in juvenile detention for the murder of a popular Madison High School graduate.
Jaylon Jackson, 18, was gunned down in a drive-by shooting in Pleasant Grove on June 9, 2016. Police are now saying it was a 13-year-old boy who pulled the trigger.
“I miss him a lot,” said Rashida Jackson, as she lit candles in memory of her son. The 18-year-old was murdered in a drive-by shooting just days after graduating from high school. Jackson says photos of her son attending prom and graduation are the last pictures he ever took.
"I just love the fact that he is in that graduation cap and gown,” Jackson said. “That was my dream."
Jackson and her son’s dreams were cut short.
More devastating news came this week. Police told the victim’s family the suspected killer is just a boy. A boy who lives nearby.
"They were actually homeboys," Jackson said. "That's what my son considered him. 'That was my homeboy;' that was his words to me."
The accused killer is a student at Comstock Middle School, according to friends. Witnesses say Jaylon was just standing outside a buddy’s house on Ezekiel when he was shot and killed.
“You know, he destroyed my life and my family,” Jackson said about her son’s suspected murderer. “He robbed my son of every dream and every plan that he had. He robbed my son of that."
Police say the accused murder suspect was already in juvenile detention on another matter when they charged him on a murder warrant this week. The boy is being held on a $1,000,000 bond.
For now, Jackson is only left with memories of her son and a few of the dreams he wrote down on a note pad before his death.
In a city where the murder rate is rising, Jaylon’s grieving mom has a simple message.
“You all have to just stop and think on your family and the family of the person’s life that you are going to take," she said.
Community members will be gathering at Peoples Missionary Baptist Church for a public safety meeting with Dallas police at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. They'll likely discuss violent crime trends and other issues impacting neighborhoods across Dallas.
Jaylon Jackson’s family and friends are also planning an 8 p.m. candlelight vigil outside Madison High School Tuesday.
