Teen was shot and killed over a pair of jeans, father says
By DeJuan Hoggard
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RALEIGH, North Carolina (WTVD) — A Raleigh father is grieving the loss of his only child after his 15-year-old son was shot and killed Friday inside their home, allegedly by a teen who pretended to be his friend.
CJ Alston told ABC11 that the shooting stemmed from a dispute involving a pair of jeans.
Alston said his son, Cayden, was trying to sell the jeans when two boys came to the house in the 1400 block of Springshire Court near Sunnybrook Road. He said he had told Cayden the night before not to have anyone over, as he was on punishment.
“I literally told Cayden that night before,” said Alston. “I’m like, they can’t come back over here. You can’t have no company.”
According to Alston, when the boys refused to pay for the jeans, and Cayden refused to hand them over without payment, one of the boys shot him.
Alston said he reviewed footage from the family’s Ring doorbell camera and noticed the boys acting suspiciously outside the home before the shooting.
“I could tell by the way they were acting, they were a little bit kind of adamant about getting in (the house). “They was going around to the back of the house … asking which one was his window,” Alston said.
He said the Ring timestamps portrayed the entire incident to have all unfolded in roughly 15 minutes. According to the Ring camera footage, the boys arrived at 11:36 a.m., and police were on scene by 11:51 a.m.
“Cayden was in here running around … trying to clean up his own blood. From the bathroom, the closet door, the kitchen. Everywhere,” Alston said.
Alston has been left with photographs and memories of his son.
“Everything,” said Alston of what he will miss about his son. “I miss most is his face. Talking to him. Cayden was my only kid.”
Alston had a message for young people caught up in gun violence: “I just want to let the youth know, leave the guns alone.”
A juvenile petition has been filed against the teen accused of shooting Cayden. Because of the suspect’s age, police have not released his identity.
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