When John Mulligan was the chief of the LaMott Fire Department in Cheltenham, he stopped into the fire house with his three sons, Xavier, Donovan and Tyler to sign paperwork on his day off.
Tyler was acting up, so John sent him to stand in the corner. A fire alarm pull station was within reach, and Tyler, who was 9 or 10 at the time, pulled it.
“The dispatch came out over the radio, ‘Station Two, a fire alarm at Station Two,’” he said. “I’ll never forget that. Tyler is looking at me like, ‘What?’ like he didn’t do it, but he was standing right next to the pull station that was activated. I think I blushed for the first time ever.”
Tyler, who was 17, was shot and killed in a vehicle in the area of 10th and Diamond on Dec. 22, 2018 along with his mother, Shronda Lyons, 35 (pictured with Tyler above). The gunman was Shronda’s abusive boyfriend, who then turned the gun on himself.
When people think about Tyler, John said he wants people to smile, because “he always had a smile. He was always super affectionate, and I want his smile will continue on in everyone’s thoughts forever. He was awesome.”
Tyler Madison Mulligan was born in Philadelphia on April 20, 2001. He was the youngest of John’s three sons; Xavier is 23 and Donovan is 19.
He was a free spirit, adventurous and full of life. Eating, shopping and traveling were his priorities, and he did all three as often as he could.
He had recently started a part-time job at Popeye’s Chicken in Roxborough and was happy to be making his own money. His ultimate goal was to work for an airline so he could travel the world.
Tyler had attended Roxborough High School but had been in the process of enrolling in cyber school. After coming out as gay, he had been harassed by other students.
But when it came to his family, he found acceptance.
“Tyler loved the fact that we accepted him. We had no issue,” said Candida Mulligan, John’s wife and Tyler’s stepmother. “When he came out to us, we were like, ‘Yeah, we knew that.’”
This demonstrates how strong-willed Tyler was, Candida said.
“If he had it in his mind that this is what he needs to do or say, he didn’t care what anyone else thought about it, he was going to say it or do it,” she said.
One of Candida’s favorite memories of Tyler was when she brought him and her sons to Neshaminy State Park, which is on the Delaware River.
“He loved the beach, he loved the water, and I have a video of him just running free and laughing and just being a kid,” she said.
John and Candida weren’t aware that Shronda, who was an office manager of a dental office, was experiencing domestic violence in her relationship. Tyler was protective of his mother, and they believe he was trying to defend her the day they were shot.
Children are often overlooked when it comes to domestic violence between partners, Candida said.
“We need to teach kids that if your parent is in one of these situations, you need to let others know, even if your parent will be mad at you. At least you’re trying to get them help,” she said.
To bring awareness to the issue of children and domestic violence as well as channel their pain and anger into something positive, John and Candida have launched the Tyler Madison Project. They plan to speak at schools as well as award scholarships to children who have lost a parent to domestic violence. Read more about it here.
“We can’t get justice through the system,” she said. “He robbed us of that. The only way we can get a little bit of justice is if we can help someone else avoid the pain that we’re going through.”
