SAN ANTONIO – Cyntwanisha Whitley is trying to stay strong.
Her son, De-Earlvion Whitley, 4, is the city’s latest murder victim. The victim of a drive-by shooting Wednesday night.
They were inside their home on the 200 block of Hub Avenue when the shooting started. It would be the last time Cynthwanisha would step foot inside her home.
RELATED: Emotions run high in wake of fatal drive-by shooting
“You could hear them (bullets) passing by your ear as you were just sitting there. Before you could even say get down, you just hear (gunfire) like what is that? Is this real?" Whitley said.
Cyntwanisha Whitley was shot in the leg, her son was hit in the face.
"My 7-year-old had his brother, screaming, ‘I should have pushed you down instead of yelling to get down,’” the distraught mother said. “How can I turn that away from my child? My child has to live with that for the rest of his life.”
De-Earlvion is now being remembered as a natural-born football player and though small, a boy with a heart as big as Texas.
“De-Earlvion was the life of the party. De-Earlvion was the smile of the party. If you were down, De-Earlvion was your joy," Whitley said.
Whitley hopes the people responsible turn themselves in and promises to fight if they don't.
"De-Earlvion Whitley, that 4-year-old, will get his justice," Whitley vowed.
READ MORE: 4-year-old boy killed, mother wounded in drive-by shooting
It is a message shared by San Antonio Police Chief William McManus.
"For those people who are helping us, I thank you,” he said. “For those who are working against us, we're going to come after you."
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