Gangs and gunfire

"By fighting, I mean exchanging gunfire," Coalson said.

He said Reason was known to police for curfew violations and had been a passenger in a car that was stopped by police a few days before his death. Reason was not charged in that incident, but police found a gun in the vehicle, Coalson said.

Jamar Evans had prior contact with Chester City police, Coalson said.

Investigators are trying to determine whether Reason fired a shot, as some witnesses have said. Coalson said Reason's clothing was sent to the state police laboratory to determine whether it contained gunshot residue.

Police did not recover a gun, but Coalson said that if Reason had one, his friends likely would have taken it.

He said it was hard to imagine that Tyreke Evans had no knowledge that some of the passengers in the Ford Expedition he was driving possessed guns and had brushes with the law.

"He knew what was going on," Coalson said.

Coalson said police were pleased that the basketball star had decided to cooperate, but added that it "took a while."

"He had to be coaxed to do the right thing," said Coalson, adding that the Evans family exerted some influence.

McMonagle said he did not expect that his client would face charges.

"He was trying to drive himself out of harm's way," said McMonagle, who added that his client was cooperating fully with law enforcement. "I guess he could have been killed himself that day. In one respect he was a victim, in another he is a witness.

"This wasn't a vehicle that was driving around," McMonagle said. The four young people in it, McMonagle said, were leaving an aunt's house to eat at Tyreke Evans' mother's house when the shooting occurred.

McMonagle said he had no idea what started the confrontation. "He's not part of the streets," McMonagle said of Tyreke Evans. "Sounds like he was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Citing a "snitch-and-die mentality," State Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland (D., Delaware) said he was not surprised that Evans' family feared for Tyreke Evans' safety.

"I think the young man is justified in his thinking that there could be some retaliation," Kirkland said. "I think law enforcement has to send a strong message that anyone who tries to harm him will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

Kirkland, 52, who has lived in Chester his entire life, said Tyreke Evans had "stepped up to the plate" and done "what police are asking others to do," making him worthy of extra protection. He said he did not believe the family should have to bear the burden of providing security, but he said he understood its motivation.

"They want to make sure he's safe," Kirkland said. "If it was my child, I would do whatever was necessary."

He said he had not spoken to the police or the Evans family and had no plans to intervene unless the family requested it.

"This young man stepped up and did the right thing," Kirkland said. "His college hopes would have been dashed if he didn't."