Ophelia Nichols, known as “Mama Tot” on TikTok, spoke out Friday after the man accused of killing her son was arrested and charged with murder in Alabama.
The Alabama-based influencer who is known for her positive content said in a video that was posted online that she is “grateful, but not happy” about the news.
“I’m getting a hundred messages saying ‘you must be so happy right now,’ and I am not. I am not happy,” she said.
Randon Lee, Nichols’s son, was shot and killed outside a gas station in Prichard, Alabama, at the end of June. Investigators, according to WALA, think Lee was shot after he met two people to sell them marijuana.
WALA says that Reuben Gulley, who is 20, turned himself in at the Mobile County Metro Jail on Thursday. Insider can confirm that Gulley’s name is in the jail database for Mobile County.
WALA said that an arrest warrant for Gulley was issued on August 4, but it’s unclear if investigators think Gulley was the shooter or the getaway driver.
Arrest made in killing of local TikTok star’s son https://t.co/gxzZuRpRCy
— FOX10News | WALA (@FOX10News) August 19, 2022
“When I saw that mugshot last night, I thought to myself ‘My goodness, he’s just a baby,'” Nichols said referring to Gulley.
After the shooting, Nichols posted a video on TikTok, which has since been taken down, to get his fans to help find the person who did it. Charissa Cheong of Insider says that the video has been watched more than 19 million times and that more than 400,000 comments support Nichols.
Nichols’ response to the arrest was that two families are hurting now.
“And there’s one thing that he and my baby child had in common, and that was that they both had a mother that would do absolutely anything for them. I’m sure they have that in common,” Nichols said.
The person who made the content also talked about the mean things people said about her son after he died. She told other people not to treat Gulley’s family the same way.
“Cause I don’t wish that on anybody, that was really hard for me,” she said.
Fans showed how much they cared about Nichols by leaving comments on his video.” I applaud you for not taking it out on the family. You are such a good strong person,” one TikTok user commented.
“I applaud you for not taking it “I know it’s gonna be a long road to justice, and I hope it’s done right,” Nichols concluded.
WALA says that Gulley’s request for bond was denied by a local judge on Friday morning, and he will be charged on Tuesday.
Insider asked Nichols for a comment, but he didn’t answer right away. Insider asked the Mobile County Sheriff’s office and the Prichard Police Department for a comment, but neither of them got back to us right away.
