Local

Norwood prepares to honor slain 13-year-old Tyler Lawrence as mother demands justice

“Everybody in this city should be outraged! And if you're not, what's wrong?"

Douglas Taylor, great uncle of Tyler Lawrence, at the site of the shooting where a makeshift memorial has been made. Matthew Lee

By Abby Patkin

February 2, 2023

Family and friends of Tyler Lawrence will gather this weekend to honor the 13-year-old boy, who was shot and killed in Mattapan Sunday morning.

Tyler Lawrence in an undated portrait. *– Handout*

A large turnout is expected at the memorial, to be held in the Revent Space at Norwood’s Rama Center from 3 to 5 p.m. on Feb. 5.

While visiting his grandparents in Mattapan last weekend, the Norwood teen went out for a short walk, his family told The Boston Globe. He never returned.

Officials said Lawrence was shot multiple times on Babson Street around 11:30 a.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Boston Police Department said Monday it is actively reviewing the facts and circumstances surrounding the shooting.

The boy’s mother, Remy Lawrence, made an emotional plea Tuesday near the spot where her son was killed.

“Everybody in this city should be outraged! And if you’re not, what’s wrong?” she said, according to NBC10 Boston. “I just left a funeral home for my 13-year-old son!”

Despite a meeting with Mayor Michelle Wu on Wednesday, Remy Lawrence told the Globe she felt the city’s response has fallen short.

“I had to implore — almost beg — her to come and see me and give me the confidence that the leaders of the city and the people she stands with wouldn’t leave any stone unturned for my baby,” Lawrence told the Globe.

Remy Lawrence, the mother of Tyler Lawrence, 13, hugging Tyler’s best friend, Jeffrey Paul, 12, while Paul’s mother Islande Tunis offers support. *– Matthew Lee/The Boston Globe*

More on Tyler Lawrence:

‘He made friends wherever he went’: Community, family mourn 13-year-old Tyler Lawrence shot and killed in Mattapan

She recalled Tyler as a “kid with high energy.” He played in a youth basketball program and was learning to cook and play music, the Globe reported.

Lawrence has taken her fight to social media, sharing photos of her son and launching the hashtag #JusticeForTylerLawrence.

“I have to do the work of pursuing justice for Tyler,” she told the Globe. “The work of keeping his name alive. The work of getting people to understand that this is not typical — whatever they think typical is — of a family that lives in Mattapan or a young boy that gets shot down. This is not that.”