Mama Tot has provided a heartbreaking update to her legion of loyal fans.
The TikTok star, who has amassed over 7.5 million followers on this social media platform, lost her teenage son in an absolute tragedy a few days ago.
“My son was murdered,” said Mama Tot (real name: Ophelia Nichols) in a TikTok video over the weekend, noting that Saturday would have been Randon Lee’s 19th birthday.
“He was shot,” she added. “And I have this hatred in my heart that I don’t recognize, because I have never felt hate for anybody.”
According to local Alabama outlet WKRN, Lee was the victim of a homicide that took place at a gas station in the town of Prichard.
He managed to drive himself down the street a little bit afterwards — and was then found dead at another gas station.
Shortly after uploading her original clip, meanwhile, Nichols said that authorities had a few leads on the suspect … but no arrest had been made.
It sounds like not much has changed on this front, unfortunately, as Nichols uploaded a new video on Tuesday that included a plea for help from her followers.
Nichols also revealed a possible motive behind the murder.
“You know when your children live out on their own and pay their own bills and they have a good job, it just don’t cross your mind that they would be doing anything to get themselves in to trouble,” she explained on Monday.
“But we’ve been told that the detectives think that marijuana was being dealed and my son was meeting there and either they tried robbing or did rob him, but he was shot.”
Added that Randon “had a lot of trouble” after the death of his dad, Nichols went on to say everyone in the family believed he was “doing so good” recently.
“We just had a birthday dinner for him and we’s all telling him how proud we was of him. Just had no idea,” she continued, saying he “comes from good people,” but “sometimes that just don’t matter.”
Mama Tot then emphasized that someone who uses and/or sells drugs doesn’t deserve to be killed.
And she did note that the assailant has not yet been apprehended.
During a press conference on Monday, Prichard Police Department Detective Jason Hadaway said that Randon was “selling narcotics” to two individuals who they had identified as suspects in the case.
According to Hadaway, the suspects were seen in surveillance video getting inside Lee’s vehicle at a gas station, before one shot was fired and the suspects left with a handgun.
Hadaway was also asked about Nichols’ social media following, saying at the time:
“I realize that Ms. Nichols has a TikTok following which is great, and all those followers could help by calling in if they have any information.
“Any slight, minuscule information that we get is good to follow up on. It may lead to nothing, however, it may lead to something as well.”
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