At 5 feet, 7½ inches, Tyrik Amir Acres wasn’t the biggest player on the Bartram Braves football team, nor was he the tallest player on the basketball court. But that didn’t stop him from excelling at both sports.
Tyrik’s mother, Shnieesha Acres, recalls watching her son score the winning touchdown when Bartram High School played against Overbrook during the 2016-17 season.
“My Tyrik caught the ball and I remember me running down the bleachers while he was running and I was screaming, ‘Go, son! Go, son!’ My shouts were so loud and proud,” Shnieesha said.
Tyrik was a regular presence on the basketball court at the McCreesh Playground and Skatepark in the 6700 block of Regent Street in Southwest Philadelphia. He spent his after school hours shooting hoops and teaching younger children how to play basketball.
This playground was like a second home to Tyrik, and he felt comfortable there. On Aug. 10, 2019, several men with guns ambushed the park, and Tyrik and two other young men were shot. After being on life support for a week, Tyrik died of his injuries on Aug. 17, 2019 at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. He was 20 years old. His murder remains unsolved.
Tyrik Acres
Tyrik was born on Oct. 27, 1998 to Shnieesha and his father, Maurice Presbery. Tyrik grew up in Southwest Philadelphia alongside an older sister and a younger sister.
He attended Vare Elementary School followed by Silver Springs Martin Luther King School in Plymouth Meeting for grades 5-8. For high school, Tyrik attended Bartram then Overbrook. At the time of his death, he was pursuing his GED through the Educational Options Program.
Shnieesha describes her son as “very outgoing and very outspoken with a smile that would light up the whole world. He was very silly, but at the same time he could be serious. He was very eager to learn—started walking on his own, and held a basketball on his own at age two.”
He also had a big heart. As a child, Tyrik learned about needy children abroad and It touched him in a way that made him want to help. He told Shnieesha, “‘Mom, I’m going to go to Africa and feed the kids,” she said.
Tyrik was observant and a good listener, and he was known for giving his peers advice and encouragement.
“My son was very good in that area, although sometimes I’d ask him, ‘Well, are you taking your own advice?” Shnieesha said with a smile in her voice.
Tyrik was focused on getting his diploma so he’d be able to get a decent job and build a life for himself. Shnieesha wanted him to be independent and learn how to money-manage so he wouldn’t have to struggle. She told him, “I want bigger things from you.”
Tyrik Acres
In 2017, Shnieesha was diagnosed with breast cancer. Tyrik was supportive as she went through treatment, but it was difficult for him to see her sick. When she had finally beaten it, Tyrik was overjoyed.
“We were a team. We talked, we laughed. We’d watch shows together. I’d braid his hair. He was my best friend, my everything,” she said.
On the night he was shot, he asked Shnieesha for an orange soda, went upstairs, came back down, then went outside, never to return.
Shnieesha would like to see more cameras installed around the city and for the ones that exist to be maintained. Police were not able to get anything useful from cameras posted in and around the park because the footage was too grainy. It could have made a difference in Tyrik’s case.
“He was definitely loved, and he’s not a nobody,” she said, “he’s Tyrik Acres.”
Tyrik is laid to rest at Merion Memorial Park.
A reward of up to $20,000 if available to anyone that comes forward with information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for Tyrik’s murder. Anonymous calls can be submitted by calling the Citizens Crime Commission at 215-546-TIPS.
Resources are available for people and communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Click here for more information.
