A candle from the memorial for murdered 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee sparked a fire that destroyed the memorial and burned a garage on Chicago's South Side over the weekend, authorities said Monday.
The blaze began around 2 a.m. Sunday in the 2000 block of West 80th Street. Officers and firefighters responded to the scene of a garage fire, according to Chicago Police News Affairs.
The memorial for Tyshawn was located next to the garage and featured several candles.
The Chicago Fire Department ruled the fire was accidental and was sparked by one of the candles from the memorial.
The memorial developed after the fourth-grader was lured from a park into the alley near his grandmother's home and was fatally shot multiple times on Nov. 2, police said. Police say an investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been made in the case. A $54,600 reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest.
The memorial burned down one day after Tyshawn's mother, Karla Lee, spoke out to about claims that she used money from a GoFundMe account for Tyshawn's funeral to buy a new car. Lee told NBC 5 she did buy a new car after her son's death, but she did not use the money from the GoFundMe account. She added that she purchased the car for protection when she goes to work.
The funeral for Tyshawn is set for Tuesday at St. Sabina Church. Services will begin at 10 a.m.
