Victim's Family Devastated by DART Slaying

Victim was on way to doctor's appointment

The father of the 19-year-old killed in an attack at a Dallas Area Rapid Transit station says the pain is unbearable.

"My baby is dead, and I can't get him back. And he didn't do nothing to this world to deserve it," said Vernon Keys, Octavius Lanier's stepfather.

Dallas police say Lanier was killed Wednesday when a group of children ages 12 to 14 attacked him at the MLK Station located south of Fair Park.

"It's crazy. It's crazy. This is crazy. This is crazy. Why would somebody kill him? For what?" Keys said.

Family members said he was on his way to a doctor's appointment when the group of teenagers and preteenagers tried to rob him on the train.

"He wanted to have his stuff," said Lainer's grandfather, Michael Walton. "He worked too hard for it; he didn't want to give it up."

The attack escalated onto the platform, where witnesses said the attackers threw Lainer into a moving train. The train dragged Lanier for several feet, severing a major artery.

He was transported to Baylor Medical Center, where he died.

"It's like somebody reached in my chest and pulled my heart out," Walton said.

"I would ask them, is an iPod worth somebody's life? Is an iPod worth your life? To just throw your life away, just for a piece of property?" he said.

Family members said Lainer was a good kid who was working as a part-time mechanic as he finished up school. Lanier hoped to become a chef.

Officers said the attack was caught on one of the station's surveillance cameras.

They have arrested two juveniles in connection with Lanier's slaying. Officers said they are still looking for two to four more children.

"Turn yourself in," Keys said. "Give yourself up, because this is what it is. You committed the crime."

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