HOUSTON – A drive-by shooting left 28-year old Tai’Rail Johnson dead, and his family without a father.
Now, his wife said the family is struggling to deal with its grief and find the money to pay for his funeral.
She said Johnson died trying to protect a man he didn’t know who was the target of a gang shooting.
The shooting happened Monday as Johnson and a friend were helping the man clean his car. Gang members in a gray Chevrolet Impala drove by and and sprayed them with bullets.
Johnson returned fire and was killed. His friend was wounded. The other man, the intended victim, wasn’t hit.
"They not only took away my husband and my kids' dad, they took away my life and my future.” Ambra Bell said.
Johnson had a troubled past that included stints in jail for theft and marijuana possession. His family said he’d also been identified by police as a gang associate.
They also say he’d turned his life around for his children, quit the streets, found a steady job.
“He was choosing to do the right thing. He was growing up. He came to being a man,” his aunt Selica Bohanna said.
Johnson’s grandmother, Helen Dupree said he had turned a corner. “He was trying to find his way and himself to be a better person,” she said.
Johnson’s wife says he lived for his two young sons, ages 2 and 7. Both children have severe asthma. The older child is now inconsolable.
“In the midst of all this, my son was already having continuous asthma attacks, so now they have my son wishing it was him instead of his dad. This is killing me,” she said.
The family is now struggling to find the money to pay for the funeral, while police chase leads to find Johnson’s killer
“They need to go to jail. They need to come forward. Somebody needs to say something, somebody knows something.”Johnson’s mother, Sonata Armstrong, said.
Houston police have asked anyone with information about the killers to call Houston Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477). A reward is being offered in the case for credible information.