Innocent remembered by his family

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Family members of the man allegedly shot to death by an escaped convict in Springfield this weekend, say that he was an innocent bystander.

Sheldon Innocent was shot and killed at Bill Brown's House of Beauty Saturday. His family joined others Monday night to speak out against violence in Springfield.

During the gathering at Representative Benjamin Swan's Springfield office, Swan said that the state prison should never have let Tamik Kirkland out of their sight.

Sheldon’s widow Savannah Innocent told 22News that her husband had planned to go shopping for their 11 month old son's birthday. She says he went to that barber shop every week, and was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

"He's a good husband, a good father, I didn't have to want for everything. He didn't smoke, he didn't drink, he didn't have any tattoos, he wasn't in a gang, he went to school," she said.

"He was a really good kid who was moving up in life and doing well. He wanted to be an entrepreneur, he was thinking about getting into politics," said Emily Innocent, Sheldon’s mother.

Tamik Kirkland, who escaped from prison a week ago, allegedly shot a Springfield police officer and a state trooper shortly after the barber shop shooting in Mason Square.