Tyson Omar Henry, a 24-year-old man from New Castle, Delaware, was known to his loved ones as “Ice.” Born on January 22, 1990, he was a father, son, and brother, and a member of a large extended family that cherished him. His life was brought to a violent and sudden end in the summer of 2014.
In the early morning hours of Sunday, August 24, 2014, Tyson was attending a private house party in the 300 block of Simon Circle in Dover. Just before 1:24 a.m., as the party was letting out, guests began making their way to their vehicles. People were gathered in the yard and along the street when gunfire suddenly erupted. In the chaos, Tyson was struck in the lower part of his body. A 25-year-old woman, who had no relation to Tyson, was also hit by a bullet in her lower body.
The Dover Police Department received a flood of 911 calls reporting the shots fired.
When officers arrived at the scene, they discovered that both victims had already been transported to Bayhealth Kent General Hospital in separate private cars. Shortly after arriving at the hospital, Tyson Henry was pronounced dead from his injuries. The female victim underwent emergency surgery and was listed in serious but stable condition.
Detectives with the Dover Police Criminal Investigations Unit began piecing together the events of that night. They learned that more than 50 people were in the immediate area when the shooting took place, presenting a large number of potential witnesses. The investigation quickly determined that two different guns had been fired. Ballistics evidence indicated that the bullet that killed Tyson was a different caliber from the one that wounded the woman, leading investigators to conclude there were two shooters.
Nearly two weeks later, on September 4, 2014, police made an arrest. Jakeel Young, 18 at the time, was taken into custody and identified as one of the shooters. Investigators learned that Young had possessed a .25 caliber handgun, which was recovered by police in an unrelated arrest on September 1. Police determined that Young had fired this weapon during the Simon Circle incident, striking the female victim before he fled. Young was charged with first-degree assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. He was committed to the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center on a $50,000 bond.
Despite the arrest, police emphasized that the evidence did not connect Young to Tyson's death. The search continued for the second gunman. By September 5, police announced they had identified a person of interest in Tyson’s homicide and were actively working to make an arrest, though this person was not publicly named. Tyson's death was the second homicide in Dover in 2014, and it occurred during a period of heightened gun violence that concerned city officials and law enforcement, who urged the public to come forward and help them solve these crimes.
Tyson’s family and friends gathered to celebrate his life on August 30, 2014. He was survived by his parents, Tasha Watson and Tyson O. Henry Sr., his son, Tyerin Henry, and his siblings. As the months passed with no arrest in his murder, his case remained an open investigation. On January 30, 2015, the Dover Police Department and Delaware Crime Stoppers announced a $1,000 reward for any information that would lead to an arrest and conviction. As of January 2015, the case remained unsolved.
Anyone with information about the murder of Tyson Henry is asked to contact the Dover Police Department at 302-736-7111 or to call the Delaware Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 1-800-TIP-3333. Tips can also be submitted online at www.tipsubmit.com.
