Police, community searching for suspects in boy's death

Marsha Mayes, Terrell Mayes, Jr.
Marsha Mayes and her son Terrell Mayes, Jr., 3, who was killed Dec. 26, 2011, when a stray bullet passed through the exterior of Mayes' house and hit the boy in the head.
Courtesy of the Mayes family

Minneapolis police officials are still looking for suspects in the shooting death of three-year-old Terrell Mayes Jr., who was killed by a stray bullet last month.

A group of volunteers went door-to-door Friday, hanging flyers on doorknobs in the area near where the shooting occurred.

Saeed Huff, a radio personality at KMOJ known as Big Sy, said help is needed not only to find Mayes' killer, but also to help prevent further violence in the city.

"The community is what we need right now," Huff said. "We can use any assistance from outside the community to come in and help with youth work, to help us with some of things we need to take care of right away to be able to start rebuilding our community."

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Bob Dennistoun with Crimestoppers, the organization offering a reward for information in Mayes' case, said the reward has grown to more than $8,000 due to a groundswell of public reaction.

Mayes flyer
A group of volunteers went door-to-door on Friday, Jan. 13, 2012, hanging flyers on doorknobs in the area near where three-year-old Terrell Mayes Jr. was shot in north Minneapolis.
MPR Photo/Brandt Williams

"Crimestoppers has seen something with this case that we haven't participated in before," Dennistoun said. "That is a great, wide span of interest. We have donations beyond the Twin Cities, from rural Minnesota and we even have donations from outside the state."

Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan said he hopes the flyers will help motivate someone to come forward with information.

Anyone with information is asked to call (800) 222-TIPS. Tips can remain anonymous.