ALIQUIPPA. Pa. — A 15-year-old boy is dead after a shooting in Aliquippa.
Dahvea Sparrow was shot and killed around 11:20 p.m. in the area of Knoll Street and Main Street on Saturday.
His mother, Nicole Sparrow, is pleading for answers.
“Dahvea Sparrow was my one and only son. My baby,” Nicole Sparrow said through tears.
The grieving mother stood at the very spot where her only son took his last breaths.
“He was Dav,” she said. “To know him was to love him. He was a kid. I won’t be one of those, ‘Not my child parents.’ He got in trouble. He did things just like everybody else did but he did not deserve that. He did not.”
Beaver County District Attorney David Lozier said Dahvea had just left a house party. He’s now calling on the tight-knit community to help them to find the suspect.
“Our communities all over southwestern Pennsylvania are fighting an epidemic of juvenile violence,” Lozier said. “We have to put a stop to this. That’s going to take the community’s involvement.”
The deadly shooting happened just down the street from the high school where the teen would have been going into the 10th grade in the fall.
Mayor Dwan Walker is close with the family and said he used to babysit Dahvea.
“This is hopes and dreams shattered,” Walker said. “If you know something out here, please. I’m telling you this wasn’t just one of them kids. This was a great kid. He was one of these kids that lit up a room. He was one of these kids whose life was ahead of him. This dude could’ve been the mayor. He could’ve been anything.”
The 15-year-old’s aunt, Genetha Short, is pleading with the community to come forward and is calling for justice.
“I loved Dahvea like he was my son, and I know he didn’t deserve this,” Short said. “I can’t bring him back, so all I can ask for is justice. Please, if you know something, say something.”
Sparrow said her son was on the football team, loved his family and everyone loved him.
“He was just a beautiful spirit,” she said. “He was a good kid. He was a funny kid. He was an athlete. He could’ve been a better student, but you know, he was Dav. He was my butthead. That’s what I called him.”
The senseless shooting has left her heartbroken and devastated.
“He gone,” said Sparrow. “That was mine. That was mine. That was my only baby and I got to plan his funeral.”
State police are leading the investigation. They’ve been working around the clock with Aliquippa police to solve the case. They’re currently reviewing surveillance video from street and home cameras.
Beaver County District Attorney Dave Lozier will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. Wednesday to give an update on the investigation.
Beaver County Crime Solvers is offering a $5,000 reward for any information leading to a conviction. That offer only stands for one week. Callers can remain anonymous and the information can remain confidential.
Anyone with information can call:
Pennsylvania State Police Beaver Barracks at 724-773-7400;
Aliquippa Police Dept. at 724-375-6682;
Beaver County Crime Solvers at 724-774-2000.
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