Teen horseplay turns deadly

PITTSBURGH: Westinghouse High School students Israel Cyrus and D.L. Timothy Fullum were best of friends, going everywhere together, staying over at each other's homes and, as teens sometimes do, engaging each other in playful pushing, shoving and teasing.

But the horseplay got out of hand Tuesday afternoon, leaving Cyrus dead, Fullum in jail and their families mourning the life lost and the life left in turmoil.

Cyrus, 15, who was stabbed shortly before 3:45 p.m. at Oakwood and Batavia streets and Fluery Way in Homewood, died about an hour later at Children's Hospital in Oakland.

Fullum, who turned 16 two weeks ago, was charged with criminal homicide and was awaiting arraignment Tuesday night.

"The really sad thing is the victim and the suspect are friends," said a somber city police Cmdr. Maurita Bryant. "It was just horseplay, the thing young boys do. It got out of hand, someone got mad, a knife was pulled and a young man is dead.

"The suspect is actually devastated. It's just a sad case for the victim, the victim's family, the suspect and his family."

Those at Westinghouse who are familiar with Cyrus and Fullum described them as good students and members of the wrestling team who never were in trouble in school.

A passing fire engine was flagged down by a unknown person to assist Cyrus, who was bleeding profusely in the snow, his backpack lying nearby.

Initial reports indicate that he had been stabbed in the heart, chest and head and was in cardiac arrest when paramedics arrived.

Police, assisted by some residents of the neighborhood, followed a blood trail and footprints at Inglenook Place to the front porch of a home in the 600 block of Sickles Street, about four blocks away, Bryant said.

As officers surrounded the house, 911 operators received a call that Fullum was inside, bleeding from a head wound. Police knocked on the door and were admitted to find Fullum sitting on the couch, talking to his mother on the telephone.

Byrant said Fullum, who carried the 4-inch folding knife to school Tuesday, apparently was stabbed by Cyrus during the scuffle. Fullum was taken to a hospital for treatment before arraignment.

Fullum's grandmother, Magnolia White-Horton, and other relatives gathered Tuesday night at detective headquarters in East Liberty.

"(Fullum) is a good kid, never been in trouble. He and (Cyrus) were always together, playing PlayStation games, sleeping over at each other's houses," White-Horton said. "I feel a lot of hurt for (Cyrus') family.

"My grandson is a wonderful kid, an undefeated wrestler, a smart child with a lot of aspirations. He was going to be the next one to go to college," she said. "This started out to be a good day. What happened• Where did this come from?"