RICHMOND, Va. -- Sylvester Nichols was known as Tre and had just celebrated his 24th birthday last Sunday.
Thursday he was gunned down in front of a Midlothian Turnpike Family Dollar store. His killer was still at large late Friday.
Sylvester Nichols III admits his son Tre lost his life to the mean streets of South Richmond.
"He's been hustlin’ and got hooked up with the wrong crowd," Nichols said Friday.
The 24-year-old was shot multiple times in front of the Family Dollar on Midlothian Turnpike and his father was forced to identify his son by his tattoos at a nearby hospital.
“I took off from work and went to Chippenham Hospital. Detectives met me at the hospital and showed me pictures," Nichols said.
Tre was Nichols’ youngest child. He'd raised him by himself since he was six months old.
"But once he got out of my sight things changed," he said.
Others saw a softer side of Tre. Ironically, he worked part time at another Family Dollar on Hull Street.
"He was very outgoing, very helpful, swell to be around,” said Dimere Crute, the manager that hired Nichols. He says he would always call and ask for extra shifts and was just a hard worker.
Crute says he wanted to help Tre Nichols because he saw potential in him, with a strong desire to learn.
"He came across as someone who wanted to make a change,” said Crute. “I wanted to go out on a limb and help because someone helped me years ago. I wanted to return the favor."
When I spoke with Crute Friday, he was actually in the act of texting Nichols to see why he wasn't at work, not knowing he was Thursday's victim.
Police are looking for Nichols’ killer, saying it wasn't a random murder.
