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Slain Teen Daquan Boyd's Father: 'A Part of Me Has Been Taken Away'

By Josh McGhee | August 19, 2013 3:00pm
 Daquan Boyd, 18, was fatally shot Saturday night on the West Side.
Daquan Boyd, 18, was fatally shot Saturday night on the West Side.
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Family

AUSTIN — Daquan Boyd, a teen who was slain on his way to his Austin home, may have been a victim of mistaken identity, his father says.

"Some guys rode up on bikes and asked them what they were a part of," said George Spivey, 38. "Before they answered, they started shooting."

Boyd, 18, was one of two teens shot in front of an apartment building in the first block of South Parkside Avenue at 11:25 p.m. on Saturday, police said.

Two people rode up on bicycles and shot at the duo, police said.

While Boyd was shot in his lower back, the other teen was shot multiple times in his left side. Both were sent to Stroger Hospital, but Boyd didn't survive.

Spivey said they've lived in the neighborhood in the 5400 block of West Adams Street about a year.

"He never really had problems with anyone. He was a likeable kid," Spivey said of his son. "Everyone who encountered him had nothing but good things to say."

Family said Boyd spent his time with his girlfriend, working, rapping and playing basketball. 

"That was his everyday thing. Every time you saw him, he had a basketball in his hand," Spivey said.

Spivey said he will miss everything about his son, from the teen's smile to the young man's deep love for the family. The father's fondest memory of his son was when Boyd was 7 and sat at the table reading a newspaper.

"I asked him what he was doing and he said, 'I'm looking for a job,'" Spivey said. "I said, 'But you're only 7.' And he said, 'Someone has to take care of you and mom.'"

Boyd had been at the Taste of Austin on Saturday afternoon and had checked in at his house throughout the day. Boyd had jokingly asked his father to fix him a plate of food.

"You better fix your plate yourself," Spivey joked with his son.

Hours later, Spivey received a call from his daughter delivering the terrible news.

"She said, 'Daddy something's wrong with Daquan. He's just laying in the street not moving,'" Spivey said. "No one wants to receive that kind of phone call."

Spivey hurried to his son.

"I saw his body and they wouldn't let me get close to it," Spivey said. "They had him lying in the alley for four to six hours before they picked him up."

Spivey watched his son in the alley for hours wishing he could switch places.

"No one wants to see their child laying there dead," Spivey said " A part of me has been taken away. Stolen. For what? Because you thought he was someone else."