Tyler Perry Pays Rent and Expenses for 4 Children Who Lost Their Mom After She Was Fatally Shot
Tyler Perry is doing all he can to help a grieving family.
The actor and filmmaker, 49, stepped in to help Tynesha Evans’ four kids after police say she was fatally shot by her boyfriend on Saturday in Atlanta. The suspect, Othniel Inniss, allegedly lured the 45-year-old mom to a Wells Fargo bank under the pretense of giving her money for rent only to shoot her instead, according to police.
Evans’ daughter Audrey Turner says that she got a call from Perry after the news broke, and was surprised to hear how much he was willing to help.
“It was a call I wasn’t even going to answer. I said, ‘Well, let me answer it to see who it is.’ I answered and the person on the other end said, ‘This is Tyler.’ I said, ‘Who?’ He said, ‘This is Tyler.’ I said, ‘Tyler who?’ and he said, ‘Tyler Perry.’ At that point, I just broke down crying,” Audrey told a local news station.
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Perry paid their rent so the family could continue living in their house, and volunteered to pay for Evans’ funeral in Atlanta, as well as fly her body to her home state of Wisconsin for another funeral.
The actor also promised to pay tuition for Evans’ other daughter Sharadiant Turner, who is a freshman at Spelman College.
“I’m going to do what she wanted me to do. She started me on math and now I’m going to get to graduate with a mathematics degree from Spelman College without debt, it means everything,” Sharadiant told the news station.
Inniss, 58, has been charged with murder and aggravated assault with a firearm, according to police. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family, with over $59,000 already raised.
This isn’t the first time Tyler Perry has helped families in need in the Atlanta area. This Christmas, the Madea actor paid off all the layaway items at two different Walmarts in the Georgia capital — a total cost of $434,000.
Perry shared the news in a video on Twitter, in which he admitted he tried “to do this anonymously” but failed.
“Trying to do this anonymously but, um, due to some circumstances y’all know how nothing stays secret these days,” he said. “So, I just wanted to go ahead and tell you.”
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Perry explained, “If you have a layaway at the Walmart at 844 Cleveland Avenue in East Point, Georgia — in Atlanta — or if you have a layaway at the Walmart at 7001 Concourse Parkway in Douglasville, Georgia — if you have a layaway at either place and it was in there as of 9:30 this morning, it was already in layaway before 9:30 this morning — I have paid for all of your layaways for Christmas.”
Taking a pause to stifle his laughter, Perry continued, “So, Merry Christmas to everybody.”
“You have to go into the Walmart, get your layaway, pay a penny — one penny — and you get your layaway,” he shared. “I know it’s hard times, a lot of people are struggling. I’m just really, really grateful to be able to be in a position to do this.”
