CLEVELAND– Cleveland police have made an arrest in the shooting death of a teenager over the weekend. Homicide detectives arrested a 23-year-old Cleveland man Tuesday morning in the shooting death of Derek Henderson, 19.
Dozens of people gathered at the corner of East 93rd Street and Empire Avenue Tuesday night to remember Henderson.
“Right now, my heart is heavy, cause I lost the one I love,” said Henderson’s grandfather, Dave Henderson. “I’m hurting. I’m really hurting about the whole situation. I’m shocked, but I love my son and I feel that this help…his family, coming together,” said his father, Darrin Henderson.
Henderson, who was nicknamed Blink, was shot around 1:00 p.m. Sunday, at the same intersection where his loved ones gathered for a candlelight vigil Tuesday night. A friend picked him up and tried to take him to the hospital, but crashed into another car on Chesterfield Avenue. Paramedics say he was dead at the scene.
“I said no, not Blink, not Blink and I just couldn’t take it, but you know what I thank God for, that morning when I left at 6:20 to go to work, Blink was laying on the counch, I said Derek I love you and I also said Derek have a blessed day,” said the victim’s mother, Cecelia Griffith.
Henderson’s mother, proudly wore his graduation cap to the vigil and held up his diploma from Euclid High School.
“I was proud when he walked across that stage and got this right here. I miss him so much. I haven’t been able to eat since Sunday since I found out he was dead,” she said.
“I just wanna say that he was a good person and it was sad what happened to him,” said the victim’s sister, Willow Smith.
“He didn’t have time to have kids or to see life period, and for his life to end so short,” said his cousin, Niecy Burnley.
Henderson’s family and friends are looking for answers, wondering why someone would kill him. Now, they can only hold on to memories.
“He was a good kid, he was cheerful, make people laugh and the family, we just loved him, we loved him a lot,” said his father.
“I heard on the news it’s gonna be 70 degrees out there and you know how you like to kick it, but today take the Lord with you. He said ‘I will ma, I love you too’ and that’s the last word he said and I said,” said Griffith.
The 23-year-old suspect is being held in the Cleveland city jail. He has not been charged.
