‘The crazy part is, we were just leaving church,’ teen shooting victim’s mother says

After leaving church Sunday night, Tanya Toomer wanted to take the kids for ice cream.

Toomer went to get her sister when they walked up on a bunch of unruly people in a neighborhood between Courtney Hodges and Martin Luther King Jr. boulevards.

“When me and the children got up there, I’m telling them ‘stop it!’ Toomer said Monday afternoon.

The confrontation escalated, and shots were fired.

Toomer’s 16-year-old was shot in front of her.

Witnesses have given conflicting statements of what led to the shooting on the corner of Bill and Betty streets just before 6:30 p.m., Perry police Capt. Heath Dykes said.

Apparently there was a large gathering outside a home on Betty Street when two people in the crowd got into an argument, Dykes said. Words were exchanged and possibly things thrown.

One of those involved in the dust-up left, but was followed. One version of events is that the argument then escalated into a shootout between the two individuals, while another is that the person who was followed fired in self-defense.

“Right now, we’re just trying to identify the shooters ... who shot a 16-year-old and put all other people in danger,” Dykes said.

Toomer said her son was shot in the right kidney and underwent surgery at the Medical Center, Navicent Health, to try to save the organ.

“I haven’t even cried. I’ve just been in prayer,” Toomer said on her way back to the hospital. “I wish it would have been me. I don’t want any child getting shot.”

Toomer believes she captured a photo of the shooter on her cellphone.

“He kept pulling a gun out,” she said.

The area is a haven for drugs and alcohol, she said.

“Something needs to be done about that neighborhood,” Toomer said. “I’ve called the police on several occasions.”

This story was originally published July 31, 2017 at 4:52 PM with the headline "‘The crazy part is, we were just leaving church,’ teen shooting victim’s mother says."