CHARGES FILED IN FATAL GARY GRADUATION SHOOTING
CHICAGO CBS CHANNEL 2
BY: PAMELA JONES
JUNE 7th, 2006

(CBS) GARY, Ind. Two men now face murder charges in the shooting death of a man outside of his sister's graduation in Gary.

The incident happened at William A. Wirt High School, at 210 Grand Blvd. in the Miller neighborhood, on Tuesday night.

Charges against brothers Evan and Isaiah Eskew were announced Wednesday evening.

Prosecutors say they shot 21-year-old Tywon Newsome. Police say the shooting happened after an argument. Apparently, Newsome arrived at the ceremony with his girlfriend, a woman one of the suspects dated in the past.

CBS 2 Northwest Indiana Bureau Chief Pamela Jones spoke with the victim's grieving family.

"I loved him. I really loved him," Eric Lewis said.

Lewis fought back tears as he remembered his stepson, Tywon Newsome.

Police say the 21-year-old was shot in the chest Tuesday night outside Wirt High School in Gary, Ind.

His mother struggled to contain her grief as she prepares to say good-bye.

"I can't even talk. I'm just hurt," Tarsha Newsome said.

Newsome's sister was graduating at a ceremony inside when gunfire erupted in the parking lot.

Newsome's mom remembered seeing him inside the event just minutes before the shooting.

"I didn't even know he was outside. I thought he was still inside because he was up on the balcony waving down to me," Tarsha said.

Now, Newsome's parents have the task of preparing to say good-bye to a young man they say was just beginning to grasp the meaning of his life.

"I was so proud of him. He was just starting to become the man I wanted him to be," Eric Lewis said.

His family said it is ironic because just a couple of weeks ago, the young man's mother had a dream his life would end in violence.

"I had dreamed that he had been shot. I called him, I woke up," she said. "So I called him. I said, 'Tywon, what you doing?' He said, 'Why mom?' I said, 'I had another dream.' He said, 'Oh, there you go.' I said, 'I did. Whatever you're doing, you better get right.'"

Meanwhile, a concerned community is speaking out. Tired of tragedy, community activist Ronald Hayes paid a visit to Wirt High on Wednesday, carrying a wooden cross. He came with a message that violence must stop.

“I brought the cross because it's a new day,” Hayes said. “It's a day where we've got to get out in the communities.”

The victim had come to the graduation ceremony to pick his mother up after the graduation ceremony for his sister.

For reasons as yet unknown, bullets flew in the parking lot, and the Lake County, Ind., coroner's office said Newsome was shot in the chest. He was later pronounced dead.

The news came as a surprise to people who attended a graduation.

“(The ceremony) was pretty peaceful; nobody knew anything was going on,” said student Cordell Owens. “I thought it was a terrible thing that happened at a graduation. That was supposed to be a time for celebration.”

Gary Mayor Rudy Clay said the shooting was not connected to what was happening in the school.

“We want to protect our students, but as the superintendent (of schools) said, this had nothing to do with the graduation going on inside,” Clay said.

As for Newsom, parents remembered him fondly and demanded that the violence in the community cease.

“I know just a little bit about him. Very good kid, very good kid. That's a very sad situation what happened last night,” said Linda Taylor, the mother of a student at the school. “I wish we could just get together, come together, and stop killing one another.”

Following the shooting, some people could not leave immediately after commencement because their cars were inside the investigation area. Some reported waiting at least 45 minutes.

Services for Tywon Newsome will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Miller First Baptist Church in Gary.

CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman also contributed to this report.