Teens Killed by Mother Refused Help by Neighbors
The story of four teens killed by their mother earlier this week has riveted the nation and caused an outpouring of grief. The 911 call made by neighbors has revealed that three of the teens, who were injured at the time, were turned away by their neighbors while seeking help.
It's unknown why Tonya Thomas killed her four children before turning the gun on herself on Monday.
"Get back, you're not coming in our house," a female 911 caller is heard telling the Tonya's children, who were seeking help.
"They tried to break in our front door to get in, I guess, to try and get away from her … whoever's got the gun," the woman's husband then explained. At this point the teens were seriously injured and trying to flee from their mother. Unfortunately, the neighbors' refusal to help allowed Tonya the time she needed to coax the children to come back home.
She then proceeded to kill the four teens: Joel, Jazlin, Jaxs, and Pebbles.
"I knew this was gonna happen you guys," the neighbor said as she talked with the 911 dispatcher. "The boy's in our front yard- get him a towel- he's got blood on his right side."
It is evident from the 911 tape that the neighbors feared they were under attack.
"I grabbed my gun and ran outside and one's laying there bleeding at the front door," a man can be heard saying. "I don't know who has the gun, so I'm not walking out there. I'm armed, but not going out there and putting myself in danger."
By the time police responded, Tanya had killed all of her children and then turned the gun on herself. It's unknown what led her to do so, but relatives say that she had sent them a text message saying that she wanted to be cremated with her children.
Last month, police responded to three different calls from the household. In one instance, Tanya stated that her son had thrown a bicycle through a window, and the very next day she reported that her son had gotten violent with her when she went to wake him up.
"It has been an ongoing problem on our street with them," neighbor Jamie Hudson told the Miami Herald.
"I don't know what could have happened in the past couple of days," Reverend Jarvis Wash told the Herald. "It's a tragedy to the church and the community."
