web page Families stunned by killing tied to egg
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
David Conrad
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
![[Linked Image from dispatch.com]](http://www.dispatch.com/2006/12/05/20061205-Pc-A1-0600.jpg)
Danny Crawford, 14, attended Westmoor Middle School.
"He was just here for Thanksgiving," she said through tears. "He was supposed to be here for Christmas." Instead, 21-year-old Crystal Poloey said she was numb and only could shudder at the fact that her young cousin died over something "so stupid."
Columbus police have examined a gray 1996 Jeep Cherokee that they think was driven by the person who shot and killed 14-year-old Danny Crawford over the weekend after an egg was thrown at the Jeep.
Police found the abandoned Jeep about two-tenths of a mile from the Hilltop shooting and said in a search warrant re- leased yesterday that there was "egg damage to the passenger side."
Homicide detectives searched the Jeep early Sunday. They said they took fingerprints and have a "person of interest" in mind.
The Jeep is registered to a 57-year-old South Linden woman. She could not be reached yesterday, but neighbors have said someone else likely was driving the Jeep that night.
So far, there have been no arrests.
The shooting occurred about 12:30 a.m. Saturday, when one of three boys struck the Jeep that was traveling on W. Broad Street with an egg. One of the boys indicated earlier that Danny did not throw the egg.
The two boys who were with Danny told police that the driver of the SUV pursued the teens through a parking lot to an alley north of Broad Street and "shot numerous times as the boys ran away" through a back yard.
Danny, who lived with his father on Valley View Drive, was hit once before dying in an alley behind 28 N. Terrace Ave., close to where one of the other boys lives.
The Dispatch is not naming the other teens because they have not been charged and the gunman remains at large.
Gathered at Danny?s father?s home, Danny?s relatives were too distraught yesterday to talk at length about him or the shooting.
A man who identified himself as the boy?s grandfather called Danny "a beautiful child" and said the family was reeling. He said they are awaiting word of an arrest.
"We feel really sorry for the person who would do such a thing," he said. "Anybody who would chase a child down and shoot him point-blank, I doubt if he would turn himself in."
Danny had moved to Columbus recently to live with his father and attend Westmoor Middle School. His mother lives in Virginia, and relatives there said she was equally distraught.
"At this point, sleeping, eating ? everything is hard," said Poloey, who was with Danny?s mother, Kelly Crawford.
Danny lived most of his life in Henrico County, Va., with his mother.
"I guess he was just getting to that age where he wanted to see his dad," Poloey said last night.
The parents of both boys who were with Danny when he was shot declined to talk about the incident.
Although it isn?t clear what brought the driver to shoot at three boys, a local psychologist has his ideas.
"Having your car egged would make anyone angry," said Dr. Craig Travis, of Mount Carmel hospitals and the Ohio Psychological Association. "But when people are emotional, they are not using the highest, most-sophisticated part of their brain. Many instead act more impulsively and disregard problem-solving."
Posters that read "rest in peace" were displayed throughout Westmoor yesterday, and students said the halls were mostly quiet and the day unproductive. Danny was an eighth-grader at the school.
"There were a lot of tears today," said 14-year-old Paul Goble.
Paul said Danny was an allaround good, generous kid.
"He?s the kind of person that would give the shirt off his back," he said. "Everyone is really sad about all this."
Anyone with information is asked to call the homicide squad at 614-645-4730.
Dispatch reporters Bill Bush and Theodore Decker contributed to this story.
bjackson@dispatch.com
