When a mother found out that a man threatened to shoot her nine-year-old daughter on his doorstep as she innocently sold candy in their neighborhood, she took matters into her own hands and grabbed her gun.
Beyond Shabazz, from Tampa, Florida, learned about the horrific threat against her daughter Sincere after Tyler Chambers posted an image of the girl to a community Facebook group on April 14 when she rang his doorbell to sell candy bars.
In his unhinged post, Chambers, a white man, wrote: ‘Your lucky we weren’t home to shoot your a** dumb b****.’
It quickly went viral and drew a slew of reactions across the community and country, but when Shabazz saw it her motherly instincts kicked in immediately.
The day after her daughter walked up to Chambers’ home, Shabazz was at the grocery store when her sister started to text and call her several times.
Once she got back home, family members ran outside and informed her that Sincere was viral and ‘her face was everywhere.’
After seeing the post, Shabazz, in the heat of the moment, grabbed her licensed firearm and made her way over to Chambers’ home, she told DailyMail.com.
She soon came to her senses and decided it was best to call the police to take care of the issue.
When officers arrived, she made them aware of the gun in her bag and told them that she knew she was ‘wrong’ for initially reacting like that.
Although Chambers posted a screenshot of her daughter to the page, Shabazz saw the video of Sincere approaching his home that day.
Shabazz allowed Sincere to have fun outside after school that day with her 11-year-old cousin – something she said was ‘normal’ for them.
She said she knew her daughter would sometimes go around the block selling items, but she wasn’t aware of it that day.
Shabazz said Sincere got the idea to do so after witnessing girl scout girls do the same.
In the clip of Sincere approaching Chambers’ door, Shabazz said it was hard to see her daughter because it was blurry, but she clearly heard her curse several times.
After being made aware of her daughter’s profane language, Shabazz said she took away her devices and had a serious talk with her.
Chambers has since deleted the post and deactivated his social media accounts, but before he did so, he alleged that the girl was acting as a ‘decoy’ for an alleged break-in at his home, but did not provide evidence to support his accusation.
He later went on to seemingly explain his actions and choice of words, writing: ‘I saw that on my camera and have a wife and 7-month-old at home, which I will protect as you would.
‘I was hot when I posted it which is why I deleted it right away I could have handled it a lot different,’ Chambers said, adding that he wanted to find the girl’s parents ‘to have a conversation with them.’
He continued: ‘But yes I could have handled it a lot different and wanted to apologize but I was trying to protect the family and it was the wrong way.’
Shabazz saw his response and told DailyMail.com: ‘I don’t have anything to say to him.’
Since the vicious attack, the heartbroken mother said her child has not been herself.
‘She’s not doing too well,’ Shabazz said, adding that Sincere has not been the ‘fun, easy going child’ she normally is.
‘She shut all the way down,’ the mother continued, adding that she is scared to leave the house because she fears she might be recognized.
Shabazz filed a police report against Chambers and is currently working with police, although she felt like officers ‘were trying to defend him [Chambers]’ when they talked with her about it.
She launched a GoFundMe page to help raise money for her family’s legal fund. As of Thursday afternoon more than $15,000 was raised.
Shabazz also created a Change.org petition to get Chambers arrested for his online threat against her daughter.
‘Our lives were irrevocably altered when Tyler Chambers brazenly threatened my 9-year-old daughter online, stating in no uncertain terms that he wished harm upon her for simply knocking on his door,’ she wrote.
More than 1,300 people have signed the petition.
Many social media users have called for Chambers to be fired from his job as a general manager at Mister Car Wash in Tampa.
The company has received a slew of negative comments online since the incident unfolded.
It is unclear if he still works there. DailyMail.com contacted the company for comment.
Police told Shabazz that Chambers, his wife Cassidy and their seven-month-old child moved out of their home after their address and personal information was shared online following the incident.