Police say Tyshawn’s father, Pierre Stokes, is an active member of one of those gang factions. They believe that's the reason his son was targeted. Tyshawn’s mother Karla Lee reportedly denied any gang connections within her family, but Stokes himself agrees his son was intentionally killed.
“If he wasn't a target he wouldn't have gotten hit so many times in the back and the face. I think he was a target,” said Stokes.
McCarthy said Stokes is not cooperating with the investigation. “Let me put it this way. We've tried to interview him at least twice. 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.”
In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Stokes said that he didn't believe anyone would want to hurt him, but if they did, there would be no reason to harm his son instead because Stokes is easily found in the neighborhood.
He said investigators seem more interested in him than in finding who killed his son.