A family is in mourning and a neighborhood is on edge after a father of three was shot and killed in West York early Tuesday morning.
The victim’s 16-year-old son spoke with Fox 43. Even though he didn’t want to talk on camera, he tearfully recounted what happened. He says about four o’clock this morning he heard one gunshot and immediately woke up and ran to the window but he didn’t see anything, so he went back to bed. A couple of hours later he said he woke up again only this time to lights flashing and the police knocking on his door.
Neighbor Sherri Crone lives on West King Street and says she saw the whole thing. “At six a.m. my youngest daughter, my nine-year-old, woke me up and said there was a dead body outside. So I came outside and sure enough.”
41-year-old Lancelot Hylton, lay dead on the street for hours. He was sitting on his steps before dawn and is believed to have been robbed.
Former West York Borough Council President Shawn Mauck lives just two doors down from where the shooting occurred and says this is a predominantly safe area.
“I think people need to learn who their neighbors are. What they really don’t need to do right now particularly is be so scared to stay inside their houses. They still need to be open and aware of what’s going on, talking to their neighbors. The more they do that the less likely crime is going to happen,” said Mauck.
But Crone, a mother of three, has lived in the neighborhood for the past five years and disagrees.
“It’s too close to home you know, kids are out here. To see something like this, you don’t think that happens in West York. And now, I live in a neighborhood I don’t want to live in anymore,” said Crone.
The victim’s son moved in with his dad and uncle about a year ago, after his parents separated. He agrees with Crone and says that more police presence is needed.
More importantly, he wants people to know that his dad was a funny guy, a good guy. A dream chaser and loving person who cared for everyone.
Hylton leaves behind three children. Police say the investigation is ongoing and an autopsy is scheduled at Leehigh Valley Hospital Wednesday morning.
