Balloons and candles were placed at the intersection of N. 3rd and Kelker streets where 17-year-old Tay’Andre Warren was murdered in November 2022.
Tiana Goodson was ten years older than her brother, Tyshawn Durden-White, but despite the age difference, the two were always very close.
“From the moment he was born, it was just me and him,” she said. “We were best friends.”
Darden-White, who had five children, also spent time mentoring Goodson’s son and helping him gain work experience. Everyone in the family was drawn to his friendly and cheerful personality. He was also very resourceful and a hard worker, Goodson recalls. Darden-White started his own hauling and junk removal business. good person. “
Goodson remembers everything about the day his brother was shot dead. She was the first in her family to discover, but it took months before she was able to handle all reality.
“It gave me nightmares for a long time,” she said. “It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever been through. Not a day goes by without me thinking about him.”
Darden-White was shot near N. 16 on 28 Januaryth Ethel Street in Harrisburg. He was one of his first murders of 2022, but many other lives were claimed by violence throughout the year.
Tyshawn Durden-White. Photo provided by family.
There were 23 murders in Harrisburg last year. This is the highest number the city has seen in years. Last year’s murder count surpassed his 22 murders in 2020. In 2021, the agency recorded 14 murders of him.
“It’s mass murder. Many families are mourning loved ones,” Police Commissioner Thomas Carter said in an interview with TheBurg.
Carter didn’t say anything about why last year’s death toll was so high, but explained that the availability of guns continues to play an important role in violence.
In 2022, police seized 259 illegal firearms in Harrisburg. This is about the same number as his collection of 268 in 2021.
Carter also noted the prevalence of “straw buying,” the illegal practice of someone buying a gun for someone else.
With murders continuing in the city, the Department implemented saturation details in certain high-crime areas a few months ago. It includes placing more officers on the streets from agencies such as the Pennsylvania Capitol Police Department. Carter says the saturation details are still valid.
“They did a great job,” he said. “They stopped a lot of things and removed a lot of guns from the streets.”
Of the 23 homicides last year, the department solved 18 of them, for a total arrest rate of 78% this year.
Department officials explained the importance of community support in resolving cases. Police took note of quite a few tips from the community that helped them, for example, recently arrest the man who murdered her, 53-year-old Stacey Shannon, at Harrisburg’s Sunken Garden park in December.
“There are a lot of things we can only do by collecting videos and stuff,” Police Lieutenant Terry Wieland said at a press conference about the arrest. “Many of them are people who send us hints. We post this case on his CRIMEWATCH and what information we can put there, people react to it. It’s our solvability. contribute significantly to the
But not all cases bring the same amount of community support, according to police. Five of his murders from 2022 remain unsolved, including that of Dardenwhite.
“My biggest question is ‘why?'” said Tiana Goodson, Dardenwhite’s sister. “It’s been a year since then and we still haven’t heard anything.”
The department hopes to improve its ability to prevent and solve murders through future technology upgrades. In December, the city announced that he received more than $3.3 million in two grants from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
The funds will help purchase license plate readers to find people suspected of illegal activity, laser scanners to improve crime scene handling, and shot spotter technology to improve gunshot detection. With this funding, the station will purchase hundreds of new porch lights and 200 doorbell cameras over the next two years. The position of the porch light and camera has not yet been determined.
The Harrisburg City Council must still vote on the grant budget.
Additionally, in December 2021, Harrisburg received a $500,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency for its violence prevention efforts. The grant requires the City of New York to contract her two years with the Research Foundation of the City University of New York on behalf of John Jay College’s National Network for Safe Communities (NNSC). The organization advises Harrisburg on Group Violence Intervention (GVI) strategies. The city holds meetings with members of violent groups to give them a choice: get help to stop the violence or face the consequences.
Goodson has a big-picture view of how to reduce violence, including tougher gun control and the requirement for broader background checks for gun purchases.
But for her and those like her who have been deeply affected by this year’s violence, one of the most tangible ways to make a difference is by sharing her brother’s story.
“I will always say my brother’s name,” she said. “There are a lot of things that can be solved without a gun. We need to get out there. People need to know this is happening. I can’t.”
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