Crime Fighters: Who killed Sharif Derry?

WEST OAK LANE (WPVI) -- Terasa Derry, the mother of 23-year-old Sharif Derry, says her son was very reserved and admits that at some point he lost his way.

"Somewhere along the way he got mixed up with the wrong people, started making some decisions that were not ideal," said Terasa Derry.

She believes those decisions are what led to the events on Thursday, July 16.

" 'Something must have happened around here,' is what I said to my girlfriend. I was on the phone with her," said Terasa Derry. "I went and picked up my younger son and we hung at my mom's for a little while, and I got a phone call to say that something had happened to Sharif."

Terasa Derry met up with detectives along the 6700 block of North 17th Street in Philadelphia's West Oak Lane section.

She says they told her, her son had been shot at about 4:15 in the afternoon.

"And he told me he didn't make it," said Terasa Derry.

She says she is now on a mission to find his killer.

"How dare you play God," said Terasa Derry. "It's not too late to fix it, turn yourself in,"

The City of Philadelphia is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for the arrest and conviction of the person responsible.

You can make an anonymous call to the Citizens Crime Commission at 215-546-TIPS.

Terasa Derry hopes justice in her son's case will give her some closure.

"It would give me peace of mind," said Terasa Derry. "It will not bring him back, but it will give me a tremendous amount of peace within."