19-year-old killed in Lansing loved 'doing the right things,' planned to join Air Force

LANSING — Kalen Mathews was always determined to do the right thing, his sister Jada Page said.

For much of his life, Mathews’ goal was to become a police officer. Page said the job signified integrity to him.

“We used to get so mad because he would (tattle) on everybody and everything,” said Page, 23, Mathews’ older sister by four years. “As a kid, you’re like, ‘Oh, you’re a tattletale.’ But he just took pride in doing the right things, and what’s wrong is wrong.”

Mathews’ goal changed over the years, his sister said. More recently, he was biding his time and planning to join the U.S. Air Force.

But the 19-year-old’s life was abruptly cut short Friday night, when he was shot and killed in the 900 block of Bensch Street in Lansing. Police officers were dispatched to shots fired about 11:40 p.m. First responders found Mathews in the road with gunshot wounds, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officers arrested a boy in connection with the teenager’s death. According to the Lansing Police Department's jail log, a 17-year-old boy is being held as a juvenile on a murder charge.

The shooting was not a random act; the two teenagers knew each other, LPD Public Information Director Robert Merritt said.

The homicide was Lansing's ninth of 2022. Three of the victims have been teenagers.

Kalen Mathews’ family described him as a confident kid who was usually joking around.

“Sometimes he’d say something and we’re just like, ‘Bro, just shut up. You’re so stupid.’ Because he’s always joking and just being goofy,” his sister said. “He was kind of just cocky … but not in a bad way. It was natural. He just had this thing to him.”

He also loved his family. One of four kids, including a twin, Mathews had a soft spot reserved for his youngest siblings and his nephew, Jada Page said.

“I have a 2-year-old son and he was constantly texting me like, ‘Where’s stinky butt? Where’s stinky butt? What’s stinky butt doing?' And wanting to stop by,” she said. “He loved his little ones.”

Mathews enjoyed playing sports — mostly basketball, soccer, football and jumping on trampolines. He’d also worked a variety of jobs — such as full-time gigs like roofing and running a go-kart track, or side jobs as a general “handyman” for others, his grandmother Judy Page said.

Recently, he moved in with his grandmother while she recovered from knee replacement surgery. He also started a new job at a Meijer warehouse.

“He did everything,” Judy Page said. “Shoveling the driveway, mowing the lawn, even cleaning. Anything I needed, he was there for me. And sometimes, I wouldn’t have to tell him. He would just see something that needed to be done and do it.”

From a young age, Mathews was always looking to do good for other people, his grandmother said.

As an elementary schooler, that meant showing up early at Pleasant View Magnet School so he could help the cafeteria staff distribute breakfasts to other kids.

When he turned 14, it meant joining the Lansing Police Department’s Explorer Post. The program introduces young people to a career in law enforcement in the hope of informing their future job choice, according to the city’s website.

And all throughout, doing the right thing was being a big brother to each of his siblings — even if they were older than him.

“I used to go in my brother’s room in the middle of the night and I used to wake (the twins) up. I’d be like, ‘I’m scared, Bubby, I’m scared,’” Jada Page said. “And he would come in my room and sleep on the floor, just so I could sleep. I was the big sister, but he would just make me feel safe and protected, and that’s a memory I always will have with him.”

Two fundraisers have been started by Mathews' family to help pay for funeral funds.

Contact reporter Jared Weber at 517-582-3937 or jtweber@lsj.com.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing teen, killed in shooting, loved 'doing the right things'