In the later hours of Friday night, a young life slipped away in Decatur, Illinois, leaving his community reeling with grief and questions. Seventeen-year-old Tev Ots was fatally shot around 10:10 p.m. in the 1100 block of East Wood Street. Responding officers found him with at least one gunshot wound and rushed him to Decatur Memorial Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
The investigation moved swiftly. Patrol officers spotted a vehicle believed tied to the shooting and traced it to a residence connected to the suspect. Overnight, detectives with the Criminal Investigations Division executed search warrants at two homes in Decatur, collecting surveillance footage, interviewing witnesses and processing evidence. The urgency of their work is palpable — this remains an active homicide investigation.
Hours after the incident, a 19-year-old man, Nehemiah T. Meyers, was arrested and booked at the Macon County Jail on a charge of first-degree murder. The prison booking marks a grim turning point, but it is only the beginning of a deeper search for answers in the case.
While law enforcement takes the lead, the investigation is far from closed. The Decatur Police Department is appealing to the public for help: anyone who witnessed suspicious activity around East Wood Street on Friday night or who possesses surveillance video is urged to contact the Criminal Investigations Division at 217-424-2734 or reach out to Crimestoppers at 217-423-8477.
Behind the words, there’s a hardship many in Decatur are feeling: the abrupt loss of a teenage life. Tev’s passing is not just a statistic—but a human tragedy in a small city where community members know each other’s names, and where youth are both hope and promise. His death on a weekend night has left classrooms, neighborhoods and dinner tables with unanswered questions.
Across town, the searches and interviews continue. Detectives aren’t merely gathering evidence—they’re piecing together a timeline, hoping to reconstruct not just the who and the when, but the why. What set Friday’s night on its tragic course, and who else may hold the missing pieces? The community watches and waits.
For now, the two simple yet devastating facts remain: a 17-year-old is dead, and a 19-year-old is in custody. As Decatur mourns Tev and his family grapples with the unfathomable, the police investigation presses on—and the community continues to hope someone will step forward with the final clue.
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