‘Ray of sunshine’: Family mourns 19-year-old killed in Arlington double homicide
Dayton Allen’s family called him Day Day. The 19-year-old loved to rap and play basketball, and had a “smile to die for,” according to his mother, Ebony Allen.
On Nov. 23, the eve of his 20th birthday, Dayton was one of two people killed inside an Arlington apartment.
Dayton had rented the Airbnb-style apartment near AT&T Stadium for his birthday party the night that he and his girlfriend, 18-year-old Alexis Johniyah Tyler, were shot, according to his mother.
Ebony Allen wants Dayton to be remembered, and said she won’t sleep until Arlington police find who committed the crime.
“My son was a ray of sunshine,” Allen said. “He could walk into a dark building and light it up.”
Dayton loved people and would go above and beyond to make sure everyone around him was comfortable, his mother said.
He had never been involved in anything dangerous, and dreamed of the day that his music could support his family, Allen said.
“My son didn’t carry a gun,” she said. “His gun was a basketball, his gun was singing his feelings to his music.”
Dayton came to Texas because the crime rate in his native Shreveport, Louisiana, was high, and he wanted to be somewhere where he could excel, his mother said.
“He got tired of hearing about shootings,” Allen said.
Dayton’s body arrived in Shreveport on Friday, and Ebony Allen said the first thing she did when she saw him was sing him “Happy Birthday.”
A GoFundMe for Dayton’s funeral expenses has raised almost $1,300.
Family members also have started a GoFundMe to raise money for Alexis Tyler’s funeral expenses.
