MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Tiffany O’Neal can barely hold back her tears. Last August her son, Ladarious O’Neal, was just trying to make it home when he was ambushed by gun fire as he drove down Shelby Drive near Swinnea.
“Basically he was just shot down, they was just constantly shooting him,” Tiffany O’Neal said.
Memphis Police say the shooting happened shortly after 11 p.m.
“My son was 22-years-old. 22 his life had just started,” O’Neal said.
We caught up with a witness who says the shooting unfolded right in front of him. We are protecting his identity for his own safety.
“We go through the light and as soon as we get through the light by the airport, the Chrysler 300 let his side window down and just opened up on this guy,” the person said. “As soon as I turned, I heard maybe 7 or 8 more shots.”
He says moments before the gunman open fire on O’Neal’s car, the gunman pulled up to another driver at Shelby Drive near the airport and fired more than a half a dozen rounds at that driver too.
“This guy was shooting in a public street,” the man said.
O’Neal says her son tried to get away from the gunman, but he was followed, eventually crashing into a tree on Goodhaven Rd. O’Neal says even after her son crashed, the gunman didn’t stop shooting.
“They got out of their car and came back to his car and was firing into my son’s car,” O’Neal said.
When police arrived on the scene, O’Neal was already dead.
“I just don’t understand how anyone can do this , a mother should never have to bury her child,” O’Neal said. “Son, I will never give up until these people are brought to justice. I will never give up until they are brought to justice.”
If you know who killed Ladarious O’Neal, you are urged to call Crimestoppers at 901-528-CASH.
Your tip could help put a dangerous criminal behind bars and some cash in your pocket, all calls are confidential.
