West Charlotte man’s family says he was beaten to death after fight between kids
The family of a man who they say was beaten to death outside of his home is speaking out.
The family told Channel 9′s Glenn Counts that it all started as a fight between kids and turned deadly. It happened off of Forestbrook Drive on Wednesday. Family members told Counts that Tariq Stokes was the man who died, but police have not named the victim.
>> A GoFundMe has been set up to raise money for Stokes’ family. Click here to donate.
Stokes was a husband and a father who had a career as a electrician.
“Everybody knew him as a sweet, loving person. He’s always smiling, always happy, always willing to help,” Terri Ingram, Stokes’ mother, said.
Ingram said her son was beaten to death.
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“At one point, you can tell that he’s limp and they were still throwing him around and stomping him in his head,” Jamesha West, Stokes’ wife, said.
Jamesha West and her daughter Princess Stokes described the brawl that started when the two teens tried to ask Princess out.
“We say no, and then he says ‘you ugly [expletive] b-word,’ I say ‘your mom’ and he gets mad,” Princess said.
Princess told Channel 9 that at that point, several teens challenged her to a fight.
“I told my husband I think that’s our daughter outside screaming, call my mom, so we ran down there to see what was going on,” West said.
The family said one of the teens stole Princess’ phone and the father caught the kid.
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“Tariq picked it up like that so he just kind of took it out of his hand, he didn’t push him, he wasn’t aggressive about it,” West said.
That teen ran away and returned with reinforcements. He came back with six or seven men and several women. The brawl began.
“I could not see anything because I was getting beat on, but I can hear him and my daughter can hear him, and he was screaming. It did not sound like it was just a fight, it sounded like they were hitting him with something,” West said.
After the fight, it wasn’t long before Tariq collapsed and MEDIC took him to the hospital where he died.
“All he was trying to do was be a good dad and husband. He was protecting us and they attacked him they killed him,” Princess said.
The case is still open and police have not said if they have identified any suspects. They are hoping the public will help them.
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