MURDER CITY USA: America appalled over Tyshawn Lee murder

That 9-year-old boy killed by gang members in a dark alley in Chicago has brought at lot of attention to Murder City USA and its violence problem.

What hasn’t brought so much attention is the backstory.

His mom put up a “Go Fund Me” page to raise money for the boy’s funeral expenses. Here’s the picture she used:

Here’s another photo of his mom from her Facebook page from a few weeks ago.

Well, that’s the picture, with some additional text added on the bottom.

That picture isn’t the only reason she’s making the news. She used the money raised to buy a new car – before the funeral:

(Inquisitr.com) Karla Lee is under fire after the grieving mother of murdered 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee apparently took money donated to help lay the boy to rest and instead used it to buy a new car.

Tyshawn Lee was slain this week in a murder that has shocked the nation. Investigators say the fourth grader was lured into an alley near his grandmother’s house in Chicago and executed by gang members, who are reportedly rivals with the boy’s father.

The seemingly senseless murder led many people to reach out to the Lee family, and a GoFundMe page was started to help pay for his funeral.

But instead, Tyshawn’s mother, Karla Lee, reportedly used some or all of the $17,000 raised to buy herself a new car, DNAinfo reported. This sparked anger among many who believe she was misusing the money, and many left comments on the fundraiser page calling out the grieving mother.

The kid’s father?

Pierre Stokes.

Police added that they believe the father, Pierre Stokes, has been part of the escalating gang war that led to Tyshawn Lee’s death. Stokes has been identified as a member of a gang, one that has split apart into two warring factions. There have been a number of assaults related to the gang squabble, police said.

Despite his alleged involvement in the gang, Pierre Stokes is not helping investigators find his son’s killer, police said.

“Let me put it this way. We’ve tried to interview him at least twice,” said Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy. “I can’t even tell you what he said because you can’t say it on TV. But he made it emphatically clear that he’s not cooperating with us.”