AURORA, Ill. — A beloved Aurora man recently died due to complications from a shooting in 2007.
Richard “Tre” Winfrey, 36, touched many in the Aurora community after persevering through tragedy. With just a few months to his high school graduation, March 2, 2007 is a day his mother Rita Robinson will never forget.
She learned her son was shot while backing out of a driveway at his sister’s home.
“I didn’t know what was going on,” she told WGN News. “I called my father who was a deputy at the time and he was able to go there. He said ‘baby he’s alive, he’s okay — but he can’t move.”
The full-of-life teenager, who played clarinet and golfed at East Aurora High School, was paralyzed from the neck down after suffering from a gunshot wound to the right side of the neck.
“I was in disbelief,” Robinson said. “I couldn’t believe it when I heard ‘neck down.'”
Robinson has seen the good in humanity through the years since the shooting and that knows she wouldn’t have gotten the last 18 years with Tre without a Good Samaritan named Jerry.
“His brother pulled him from the car and started crying out for help,” Robinson said. “A bystander named Jerry heard the hollering and came to Tre. He realized he was choking on his own blood, made him cough and saved his life.”
No one has been arrested in the shooting.
“Tre was a kid they all loved to be around,” Robinson said. “He was fun, he was happy and he was friendly and kind.”
Robinson said it got rough at times over the years but he was never going to live in a facility.
Along the way, organizations like Triple Threat Mentoring stepped up to the plate.
WGN profiled Winfrey in 2015 after the organization gifted him a wheelchair-accessible Mercedes van.
He remained positive since the shooting and studied hard to become an insurance agent. At the time of his passing, he worked for State Farm.
“His best friend told him ‘you can do this’. He studied and studied and passed the test,” Robinson said. “He had a computer on his chair and used a mouthpiece. His mouth was his hand.”
The 36-year-old passed away from a stroke on Sept. 18. His death was ruled a homicide and was related to the 2007 shooting.
“This one hits the heart so much. Rest easy, Young Tomcat. We’ll miss you, Tre,” former Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin wrote on social media.
Robinson and her family are devastated but lean on faith. Without justice, Robinson said Tre forgave the person who shot him.
“To this day I still do not know who the shooter was, but it’s okay because God knows,” she said. “I have forgiven him. I choose not to hold malice or bitterness in my heart.”
She was never granted life insurance for Winfrey due to his condition. The Aurora community has rallied around the family to give him a burial and ceremony. Over $14,000 was raised at this time via GoFundMe.
“This is overwhelming and I’m grateful and thankful,” she said. “It’s amazing how my son touched so many people. I’m so thankful God chose me to be his mother.”
The investigation of his shooting remains open, Aurora police told WGN News. Anyone with information can call police at 630-256-5500.
His wake is Friday, Oct. 10 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at James-Paynes Funeral Service in Aurora. Winfrey’s celebration of life is Saturday, Oct. 11 beginning at 10 a.m. at Cathedral of Grace St. John AME Church in Aurora.
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