The Chicago mother whose son was executed in an alleged gang-related revenge shooting and bought a new car with online donations for the boy's funeral says her life is now in danger.

Karla Lee, 26, has been inundated with outrage since it was revealed that she used money from a GoFundMe account set up following the murder of her son, Tyshawn Lee, 9, to put a down payment on a 2015 Chrysler 200.

The elementary school student was headed to his grandmother's house last Monday when he was 'lured' from a park into a South Side neighborhood alley and shot in the head and back, in what police say was an 'absolutely hateful' killing motivated by his father’s alleged gang affiliations.

Lee says that she bought the car so that she didn't have to walk to work through the dangerous neighborhood where her son was killed, adding that he would have wanted her to be safe.

'Am I afraid for my life? 100 per cent I’m afraid for my life,' Lee told Fox 32 Chicago.

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'100 per cent I’m afraid for my life': Chicago mom Karla Lee, 26, says she bought a new car with money meant for her murdered son's funeral because she is now scared for her own safety

Lee continued: 'I work right in the area around where the conflict between these two gangs, I work right over there, so what ya'll want me to be walking and then they see me and they kill me too?'

Lee initially admitted that she used some of the online donations - almost $17,500 - to buy the car, but later said she had used her own money.

She maintains that there is still $13,000 left in the GoFundMe account, which she titled 'Help me lay my baby to rest'.

Fox 32 has reported that someone has stepped in to pay for the little boy's funeral, which was slated to take place Tuesday.

A separate GoFundMe page was set up by the boy's father, selling 'memorial t-shirts' just days after the murder.

The father, Pierre Stokes, wrote online that by selling the shirts he was trying to fix the wrongs done by the boy's mother.

Tyshawn Lee, nine (right), was fatally shot in the head and back in Chicago, and police say he was targeted because his father, Pierre Stokes (left), is connected to ongoing gang violence in the city

Cash grab: The boy's father behgan selling these shirts on GoFundMe, in what he said was an effort to raise money for Tyshawn's funeral. However the page was recently pulled down

Donations: The page was eventually deactivated, but not before it caused some controversy on social media

'I understand the mother of my son did wrong by that money but what the news is not telling, that they are only paying for half the cost of everything,' Stokes, writing under the alias Wooh Gotti, posted online.

The post continued: 'They are blaming us so they don't have to pay the full cost of everything. She is in the wrong for doing what she did with the money for our son, just give me a chance to lay my son to rest the right way.'

The page was hoping to raise $2,500, and the memorial shirts were being sold for $25-$45, DNA Info reported.

However the page was later deactivated.

Officers say they found Tyshawn (left and seen right with mother Karla) left for dead inside a South Side alley

Following the shooting last week, police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said Tyshawn's slaying was the result of two gangs fighting, potentially in a string of retaliatory events dating back months.

He also said the boy's father wasn't cooperating with police.

McCarthy called it probably the 'most abhorrent, cowardly unfathomable crime that I've witnessed in 35 years of policing.'

'Everybody is sick; everybody is disgusted.'

Stokes has disagreed with authorities' characterization of him.

Tyshawn's funeral is set to take place on Tuesday

He hasn't talked about whether he's a gang member but said police have spent more time pursuing him than finding out who killed his son.

'I answered every question they asked me,' he told reporters Thursday not far from the spot where his son was killed.

'They're not asking me questions that I know. I don't know the questions that they asked me.'

A memorial for the boy — stuffed animals, candles and balloons — still lingers in the alley.

Police have executed several search warrants in the investigation, but refuse to release details.

A 'person of interest' turned himself into police last Wednesday but was released without charge.

Authorities have said they know the gangs and individuals involved but need help assessing who did what.

They reiterated a plea for any information that will help lead to charges, acknowledging fears people may have of being targeted for speaking out.

'We'll take those steps to keep it as quiet as we can,' McCarthy said.

Police superintendent Garry McCarthy branded Tyshawn's killing 'the most abhorrent, cowardly unfathomable crime that I've witnessed in 35 years of policing'

A memorial for the boy — stuffed animals, candles and balloons — lingers in the alley where he was killed

A reward of $54,000 is being offered for information leading to charges in connection with the boy's death.

Members of the Faith Community of St. Sabina, a well-known South Side Roman Catholic church, have raised money from around the country.

The Rev Michael Pfleger, a priest at St. Sabina who is known for his anti-violence activism, said he would pay money out of his own pocket to help anyone with information move from Chicago.

'This was not a drive-by. This was not a spray of bullets. A baby was executed,' Pfleger said.