'A lot of light': One year after the unimaginable, Tyler Lawrence's mother reflects on the life of her son

Just over a year after her 13-year-old son was fatally shot, Remy Lawrence said she still feels her son with her.

"Tyler is very much with me. Always, I feel him with me, I know that he's with me," she said in an emotional conversation with WBUR's Radio Boston. "There are days when it feels like I'm still waiting for Tyler to come home. More days than not, I feel like I am waiting."

Tyler, a seventh grader from Norwood, was shot five times on on Jan. 29, 2023 while on a walk in his grandparent's neighborhood in Mattapan. He was sweet, loving, forgiving and kind, said Lawrence. He loved Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He loved his grandparents. He loved to watch Celtics games with his grandfather.

"He loved to run into the kitchen like it was a basketball court and shoot this imaginary ball all around me while I'm cooking," she said. "That was who Tyler was. He was a lot of fun, and he was a lot of light."

Following Tyler's killing, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said that the boy's killing was "targeted." Following that statement, Tyler's family took umbrage with the term, saying it seemed to imply that the middle schooler was involved with crime, when he was not.

Hayden's office previously told the Globe that the use of the word "targeted" was used to show that there wasn't another scenario, like a drive-by shooting or a gunfight, at play. Hayden later said there was no connection between the boy and 34-year-old Csean Skerritt, who faces charges for Tyler's death along with federal fentanyl drug trafficking and other charges.

Lawrence told Radio Boston that Hayden has since done "his best to make that right," but said that law enforcement should take care when speaking about homicide victims.

"I would really hope that law enforcement takes away from this the importance to speak about a victim of homicide, specifically a child, with as much information and knowledge that you can about the victim that you're speaking about," said Lawrence. "I think it is imperative for the powers that be in this community, in this state, To not use inflammatory language."

She said language that suggests wrongdoing on Tyler's part can also be confusing to his peers, who are already confused as to why this happened to their friend and classmate.

"I think it's important when we're talking to be mindful, that other people, aside from the family are impacted deeply and devastatingly by lack of insight and awareness when speaking about the victim," she said.

Lawrence said she is worried about Tyler's peers who are also dealing with the unimaginable loss of a friend. She also noted that his friends have supported her in her time of grief.

"They're good kids that that text me frequently," she said. "They come by my house, ring my bell, bring my groceries in for me. Help me to feel almost like Tyler sent them: 'Go check on my mom.'"

Multiple communities have worked to honor his life and legacy, Lawrence said. Northeastern University Law School, where Tyler's grandfather worked, now awards an annual scholarship named for the boy. Coakley Middle School in Norwood, where Tyler went to school, held a three-on-three basketball tournament to raise funds for a bench with his name on it. A park is being built in his name at the Norwood Municipal Airport; his mother said they expect to open the park this year.

"There have been beautiful things to come about, said Lawrence. "Tyler will not be forgotten."