‘I’m trying not to carry hate in my heart’: Family pleads for answers 6 months after 19-year-old killed outside Bessemer Amazon facility

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) -A family is pleading for answers more than six months after 19-year-old Tyler Alexander was shot and killed outside his workplace in Bessemer.

Alexander was gunned down outside the Amazon fulfillment center where he worked on Jan. 19. His family says the pain of losing him has been compounded by not knowing who is responsible.

His grandmother, Mary Davis, says she is doing her best to cope with the loss while hoping the person responsible is held accountable.

“I’m trying not to carry hate in my heart,” Davis said.

But she says the grief has been overwhelming.

“I want to see them behind bars. I want them to suffer. I want them to know what they took — that he wasn’t just some trash that someone wouldn’t think about or you would forget about. His life mattered, and they took that away,” Davis said.

For Tyler’s family, memories of who he was help keep him close.

Davis remembers Tyler learning to operate a lawn mower and tractor with his grandfather. After his death, the family purchased a lawn mower with Tyler’s name on it.

His aunt, Kayla Davis, remembers him as someone who always made time for his family — especially his younger siblings.

She says Tyler would show up for his sister’s dance recitals and even supported her by buying all the tickets she had to sell.

“Tyler would make time to talk to them,” Kayla Davis said. “When she called to show up for stuff, he would come to her dance recitals. She had to sell five tickets. He bought all the tickets. He bought all of them.”

For Tyler’s mother, Sophia Brown, even everyday routines can bring the loss rushing back.

Brown says food is one of the many reminders of her son. Tyler loved mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese and homemade French fries.

“I may eat two or three, and I get sick to my stomach because I think about him constantly,” Brown said.

The family is now asking anyone who knows something about Tyler’s death to come forward.

There is a $20,000 reward for anyone with tips related to the case. Crime Stoppers is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and Gov. Kay Ivey’s office is offering an additional $10,000 reward.

Investigators say no tip is too small.

Anyone with information is encouraged to come forward and help Tyler’s family get the answers they have been waiting for.

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