Sue Sky-Isaacs cannot understand that her son, Dylan, went to a football game in Florida and ended up dead.
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“None of it makes any sense,” Sky-Isaacs told The Spectator on Tuesday from her home on Six Nations of the Grand River.
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“And to see my boy laying there with a sheet over him on the Miami news is the worst nightmare ever,” she said, her voice breaking.
“I can’t believe it’s my son laying there. It’s awful.”
Dylan Isaacs had just watched his beloved Buffalo Bills clinch a division title by beating the Miami Dolphins on Sunday when his postgame celebration was cut short by gunfire.
According to Miami Gardens police, the 30-year-old was walking through traffic with some friends a few blocks from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami just before midnight when an argument started between Isaacs’ group and the driver of an older-model silver Honda Accord .
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In an email to The Spectator on Tuesday, police said the argument started “as a result of the driver allegedly driving erratically and striking a pedestrian.”
Isaacs’ family said it was Isaacs himself who was clipped by the car, and he and his friends gave chase.
According to police, the driver got out and fired several shots before getting back into the car and speeding away.
Isaacs was hit and fell to the pavement, where he died minutes later, despite efforts from police officers and paramedics to save his life by administering CPR.
Isaacs’ childhood friend called Sky-Isaacs to break the news. The friends had driven down to the game together and put two of Isaacs’ cousins at the stadium.
Sky-Isaacs said her family — including Dylan’s younger brother, Braedyn — are trying their best to cope with the “senseless” loss.
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“He loved family,” Sky-Isaacs said of her funny and caring son.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she added. “Right now, everyone, family and friends, are all around us. It’s those days that nobody’s going to be there…”
Sky-Isaacs said he enjoyed his work as an archaeological community monitor with Six Nations, supervising archaeological projects on the reserve and that he looked forward to using his skills to contribute to the ground research at the former Mohawk Institute residential school in Brantford.
“He’s learned a lot from it. But it’s also emotional,” Sky-Isaacs said.
“He would find arrowheads, and that was a big thing for him. He was so excited when he found them.”
In a news release, Chief Sherri-Lyn Hill offered Six Nations elected council’s “deepest condolences” to Isaacs’ family and friends.
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On Monday, police found and seized the car thought to have been driven by the alleged shooter in West Palm Beach.
Officers have “identified and interviewed” a suspect in the case, police told The Spectator.
The investigation is ongoing, with a $5,000 reward offered for information leading to the arrest of Isaacs’ killer.
Meanwhile, the Isaacs family prepares to bring Dylan’s body back to Six Nations for burial.
Isaacs will be buried in the Haudenosaunee tradition, his mother said, followed by a feast on the 10th day after his death to usher his spirit to the next world.
As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 1,300 people had collectively donated almost $86,000 to the family through a GoFundMe online fundraiser.
“It’s times like this, people reaching out and showing their support and helping — it’s so overwhelming,” Sky-Isaacs said.
“There’s good people in this world still.”
Sky-Isaacs said she is “grateful in every way” for the financial help to “do everything we need to go to get him home.”
“I thank everyone for it,” she said.
“But I want my son back. And I can’t get that back. Ever.”
JP Antonacci is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter based at the Hamilton Spectator. The initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
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