Fort Lauderdale Police said forensic evidence, witness accounts and cell phone data led to the indictment of a 20-year-old man in connection with last year’s fatal shooting of 3-year-old Rylo Yancy.
Tyler Hollins has been charged with first-degree murder in Yancy’s death. He was killed by a stray bullet during a shooting at a children’s birthday party at Riverland Park on July 21.
Hollins was already in custody on unrelated charges when the murder indictment was issued.
What led to the shooting
Police said Hollins was part of a group of people in two cars that fired on someone at the part.
“There seemed to be a beef between Hollins and his crew and individuals at the party when they took it upon themselves to shoot up a child’s birthday party,” Fort Lauderdale Police Sgt. Don Geiger said. “We feel good about the arrest but our work is not done. The work is not done until they are all in jail. We just want you to know we are coming for you. We are going to hunt you down and find you.”
Family wants justice
Yancy’s aunt, Nena, said they will never be the same without Rylo and wants those involved to do the right thing.
“We’re glad that we got justice. I feel like all of the rest of the young boys that are involved should turn themselves in,” she said. “This was the worst death of my life, we will never be the same.”
“My nephew was going to start school this year and he didn’t deserve that at all. All he wanted to do was play in the park. We are heartbroken.”
“I feel like all the boys involved should turn themselves in. This was the worst death in my life ever. We will never be the same. That baby meant the world to me, like he was my own child. All he did was go down a slide.”
CBS News Miami also spoke with Rylo’s grandfather, Jerrold Pough, who said of the arrest, “It relieves a little bit of the pain, but this is not closed because they are still out there and this chapter will not be closed until they are found. I say to those guys, please turn yourselves in because you can’t hide.”
Detectives have identified other suspects involved in the shooting and authorities said they are actively working to bring them to justice. Geiger called the shooting horrific and said those involved were cowards.
A reward of up to $10,000 is being offered for information that leads to additional arrests.
