Friends, family take to social media following Tillman’s death

Brandon Bounds Andrew Keiper

Jayquon Tillman, 18, was shot and killed at a house party at 7263 on state route 43 Saturday morning at approximately 12:43 a.m. after neighbors called The Portage County Sheriff’s office for a noise complaint.

The shooter has not been identified and police are still investigating the homicide incident. Tillman was a junior political science major at Eastern Michigan University.

Family and friends of Tillman turned to social media to share their grievances.

The Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity at Eastern Michigan recently initiated Tillman into the Delta Nu Chapter. Benjamin Barnes, a member of the fraternity, said Tillman radiated happiness wherever he went.

“(Jayqoun) was very passionate about his community,” Barnes said. “He was very involved on campus and was a part of a mentorship program.”

The Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity established a GoFundMe to relieve financial stress on Tillman’s family for his burial and other expenses.

Black United Students (BUS) released a statement regarding Tillman’s death:

“Black United Students is deeply sadden by the events of (May 6). This has shaken us to core. Although the young man was not apart of Kent State, we are still hurt by his loss. This has opened our eyes to the fact that we, as a community, must increase our efforts on being united. Moving forward, we want to make sure that the community is provided with a safe place to have fun and will be taking the necessary steps to do so. We support safety and are against the violence that occurred (May 6). Our condolences are with Jayquon’s family and best wishes to Kalin on a quick recovery.”

A Eastern Michigan student, Desmine Robinson, posted a video on Facebook and said, “I’m happy we can get together to express our love for Jayquon Tillman here at the KAPPA house on Normal Street. We are our #BrothersKeeper:”

Brandon Bounds is a TV2 reporter, contact him at [email protected]

Andrew Keiper is a senior reporter, contact him at [email protected]