Tulsa Friends, Church Family Come Together To 'Stop Violence'

A Tulsa mother is keeping her murdered son's memory alive by finding something positive for young kids to do.

Deyon'ta Dunn was shot to death in November.

Tuesday would have been Deyon'ta's 21st birthday.

His mother says they always celebrated on Sundays and thought this was the perfect time to send an important message to kids who are traveling down the wrong path.

The sanctuary was packed at New Degree Praise Center as dozens enjoyed singing, praise dancing and spoken word poems.

All for one reason.

"Our young folks just need some positiveness in their lives," Bishop Q.L. Bell, New Degree Praise Center Senior Pastor, said.

Dunn was a member of the church.

Four months ago, he and 19-year-old Phoenicia Dorsey were found shot to death in a Tulsa home.

Beverly Foster said her son made mistakes in the past, but was trying to get his life back on track when he was murdered.

"Words can't express how I feel right now," Foster said.

Foster said her son's death was senseless.

Now her mission is to show kids there are better places to hang than the street.

"That was the whole point to try to get young people to come in and see you can have a good time in church like you can have a good time on the street, in the club," Foster said. "You can do the same thing in church."

Friends and family described Dunn as a caring person.

They said he had a big heart and loved coming to church.

"He was a great young man, and you can look at him and tell that his smile just lit the whole place up," Bell said. "When he entered the room, you knew it."

Bell explained there's a lot of negativity in the world and hopes kids will learn from Dunn's story.

"Just like so many young folks, you get in a whirlwind of despair because there's so much stuff around, influences," Bell said.

A billboard on Apache Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard hangs in memory of Dunn.

Bell said the meaning is powerful.

"Stop the violence. Change your ways. That's the message."

Police do not believe this was a random crime and that the shooter was after Dunn.

If you have any information, you're asked to call Crime Stoppers at 918-596-COPS.