TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Despite the tragic circumstances surrounding TJ's death, those who knew and loved him are focusing on what he stood for as a person and the light he brought into everyone's life from the Big Bend to Lexington, Kentucky, where his fiancee is from.
July 27, 2019. That is the day Tyras McKinney and Niesha Ross had chosen to commit to each other as husband and wife as their wedding date. Until two bullets fired in Clippers Barbershop last Thursday changed those plans forever.
When people who knew Tyras McKinney remember him, it's with a smile. They say he loved his fiancée Niesha, his son Aidyn, and his family. They say he died trying to protect his son.
"He died at the place that he loved to be at and he died in front of the person he loved the most. Even though Aidyn had to experience that. I think TJ died in peace," said Gwendolyn Ross, Niesha's cousin.
Who was Tyras McKinney? He's described by family as kind, a great father, and a hard worker who never did anyone any harm or spoke out of turn.
"He was so humble, he was quiet, he was goofy a lot like my sister," said Jazlyn Walker, Niesha's sister. "He had this little giggle, but he was a great great guy. He didn't deserve it."
A man who loved his family, his job and his life. That's what makes it so hard to understand why Wednesday is Tyras Mckinney's memorial service.
As his family. friends and the community struggle to come to terms with his death, their thoughts are with his fiancée Niesha and 3-year-old son Aidyn and everyone who had the honor to know and love a great man.
McKinney's family added he absolutely loved sports and was a big Florida fan.
