Family of 15-year-old killed at gas station desperate for gunman to be caught

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Detroit police are still looking for the suspect who shot and killed a 15-year-old inside a gas station store Friday night.

Tasneen Sherrod is a mother in mourning.

"My son died protecting his little brother," she said.

Her 15-year-old son Robert Harris, was gunned down at the gas station at Seven Mile and E. Outer Drive in Detroit Friday night. His 14-year-old brother witnessed the shooting.

"He held his brother to his last breath, and that’s nothing no kid should be able to go through," Sherrod said.

Police say the shooting stemmed from a beef on social media and that Robert and another teen planned to meet up and fight but the other teen brought a gun.

But his mother says that’s not the case -  Robert had got into a fight with one of the teens seen in the surveillance footage a week before Christmas.

He and his brother went to the gas station Friday night to get some snacks and posted a selfie on social media.

His mom believes the other boys saw it, recognized where he was, and went there to confront him.

"The boy (who) shot my son is 15 years old, the same age as my son," Sherrod said. "Didn’t want to throw up (fists), but you picked up a gun."

Robert was a student at the Detroit Lions Academy. Tasneen says he wanted to become an engineer.

"Everybody that my son came in contact with, the first thing out of their mouth is: he was so sweet; he was so kind; well-mannered, to everybody," Sherrod said. "My son looked out for everybody."

Now police are looking for his killer.

The shooting comes as DPD reports a slight drop in homicides from 2020-2021 while noting there’s still entirely too much violence in the city. The murder of this 15-year-old boy is another stark reminder of it.

"I’m asking and pleading the city of Detroit, please find them, because all I want is justice for my baby," Sherrod said.

Detroit police are receiving tips and leads, confident they will find the person responsible and want him to turn himself in.

A GoFundMe page has been started to help the family pay for funeral expenses.

If you have any information that will help Robert’s family find closure, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.

At left, gunshot victim Robert Harris, 15. At right, the suspect police are looking for, who killed him.