A grieving mother is speaking out after her 36-year-old son was shot and killed in North Preston, N.S., Wednesday night.
Leslie Sparks says she last saw her son Tyrell Romone Beals at dinnertime Wednesday.
“He would come over, he would always come home, eat something, then he and his brothers would go out and sit in their cars and talk, laugh,” Leslie Sparks said.
“Then later he comes back, he always comes back to check on her.”
According to Sparks, he returned home around 11:30 p.m.
“He came in and pulled up in a rental car and he was talking to his little brother and they were here laughing and whatever and his last words were that he was going to North Preston to relax with his girlfriend,” Sparks said.
Police investigate fatal shooting in North Preston, N.S. (Source: James Morrison/CTV News Atlantic)
fatal shooting
According to a RCMP press releaseOfficers responded to a report of a man who had been shot on Downey Road around 11:48 p.m. They found the injured man with gunshot wounds.
Emergency services took him to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
“I was at home, my husband and I were watching the 11 o’clock news and I fell asleep for a minute and my phone rang. Normally, when my phone rings after 12, I always get nervous,” Sparks says.
On the other end of the line was Beals’ girlfriend calling to tell him he had been shot.
“She said, ‘Come home right now.’ She said, ‘Someone shot Tyrell,'” Sparks recalls.
Sparks got dressed and her husband came into the room asking what had happened.
“I said, ‘Someone shot Tyrell.’ He said, ‘Wait, calm down,’ because he didn’t know what to do or what to expect,'” Sparks says.
“We left and I told his two brothers, I said, ‘Come on, get up, get up.’ “Tyrell was shot.”
‘My heart is broken’
Police are investigating the incident as a homicide, which they do not believe was a random act. Evidence indicates that multiple shots were fired.
“I am broken. Like my heart was broken. I am devastated by what happened to my son. “My son was executed and I don’t know why,” Sparks said.
“He was a father, father of six children (two boys and four girls, a set of twins). They are going to miss their father.”
The family got into the car and ran to their son. According to Sparks, they saw Halifax Regional Police and RCMP vehicles in the parking lot of St. John’s Hall in Westphal.
“I looked and wondered, ‘Okay, why isn’t the road blocked? If there are three active shooters in North Preston, why isn’t the road blocked? she remembers.
“When we went up the hill we met the arriving ambulance. So I told my husband: ‘Turn around, don’t go down there. Turn around, because he’s there.’ So we made a U-turn and followed the ambulance back. So, I thought, the ambulance is coming, the police know, obviously I know they would have known there was a shooting in North Preston, so these same three vehicles are still in the St. John’s Hall parking lot, still talking. They never moved. They never moved and I said, ‘Why aren’t the roads blocked? Why did these people have the opportunity to escape tonight? How did this happen?'”
Leslie Sparks of North Preston, NS, is seen in this photo taken on May 9, 2024.
Protection call
Sparks says she is disappointed by the lack of support her community is receiving and that she doesn’t feel safe.
“They shot him dead. These people escaped last night. If the police had been on the scene when they received that call, that 911 call, they probably would have had someone in custody right now. But they didn’t,” he says.
“So now I’m left with the pain. I am left in the dark knowing that my son was shot and killed and that there was no one there to protect him. He was afraid of the police, but if they had shown him that they were there to protect him, he would have loved it.”
After the death of his son, Sparks asks for protection for his community.
“We have young men running around killing other men and they get away with it. They shouldn’t get away with it. No one should get away with murder. You don’t give your life and you shouldn’t have the right to take it,” she states.
“Until police officers can show me that they are here to serve and protect people of color, we should all receive the same respect and treatment. We don’t understand it and I’ve seen it for years. I’ve seen it, I’ve seen it, I’ve seen it and there’s no change,” Sparks says.
Halifax Regional Police say officers were in the area on an unrelated matter and arrived at the scene within minutes. They say officers administered first aid while they waited for the ambulance to arrive.
“It is certainly a tragic incident and our thoughts are with the family. It’s traumatic every time someone loses a loved one and certainly, you know, there can be strong emotions and a chaotic scene, right? According to the information I received, there were several people at the scene and it is important to remember that our officers are there to promote public safety, protect evidence and gather necessary information,” says Cpl. Guillaume Tremblay of the Halifax District RCMP.
Police insist they secured the area moments after their arrival and brought in additional officers from the RCMP and the Halifax Regional Police Emergency Response Team.
“It’s a very tragic incident for the community and we have officers there to increase the police presence to promote public safety,” Tremblay says.
Tyrell Romone Beals appears in a photo sent by the family.
“He loved his family”
When asked to describe the type of person her son was, Sparks said family was his number one priority.
“He loved his family, he loved his children and he would not do anything to jeopardize the love he had for his children because his children were his priority and so was I. I was his heart and if there was anyone in the world who listened to us, they listened to my husband and me. And now I will never again have the chance to hug him and tell him how much I love him for what he went through,” he says.
“The son that I know, the son that I raised, I’m not going to paint a pretty picture because everyone has their own way of doing things. When they leave the house, we don’t know what they are doing. But I can honestly say he was a legend in that community. He respected everyone and the only thing that would piss him off is if someone approached him. He wasn’t the type of person to harass anyone. But that kind of thing would come back to him. He wouldn’t go hurt anyone, but he would let them know: if you come to me, I will come back to you. He was like that, but he was a harmless person,” he states.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call police at 902-490-5020 or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 or www.crimestoppers.ns.ca.
For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page.