Jamiel Shaw Jr., 17

Jamiel Shaw Jr., 17, a black youth, was shot in the head and back at 2150 Fifth Ave. in Arlington Heights at about 8:40 p.m. on Sunday, March 2. According to police, Jamiel was walking home when two Latino men jumped out of a white car and approached him. He was asked what gang he belonged to;  when he failed to respond quickly enough, they shot him. The men sped away in the white car north on Fifth Avenue, according to Officer Kate Lopez of LAPD's media relations office. Jamiel's father heard the shots and ran out. He stayed by his son until medical personnel arrived, Lopez said. He was transferred to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead at 9:55 p.m.

More in the Los Angeles Times story.

Comments

[GS]

I just would really like to send my condolences out to the shaw family. Young man, big dreams and life tooken from him. I too lost my friend to gang violence even though he wasn't apart of any gang. He to appears in this blog and when I found out about what happened to jamiel I was about to go to work, but once I heard about what happened it really hit me in a hard place. Were fighting a war in are own city and even the police can't stop it. It's time for us as a city and a community to take stand because it could be your son or daughter next. I'm praying for the family and I wish I could of attended the funeral, but I have to work. Rest In Peace Jamiel and evn though I didn't know you it broke my heart to find out about your passing.

[Maureen]

I just stopped crying after reading and listening to the tragedy that has inflicted the Shaw family. What an amazing young man, son, brother, student, and athlete. CNN reported this on their website today and even though I am hundreds of miles away in Iowa, I feel your pain. Let me help you live in a safer environment, come live in Iowa, if not for you, then for your son.

[Larissa]

I can't stop thinking of what happned to this family! Is there anything we as a country can do ? I wish we could just get rid of all gang members forget their rights , people who live in these neighboorhoods have to live like they are in a war and it's not fair!

[sam]

The person responsible, the person who killed Jamiel is named Pedro Espinoza, according to police.

[jen]

Where can we donate to help this family?

[the whole story?]

While browsing through Myspace.com I ran across this kids webpage.... seems to me he had something to do with gangs since he talks all about Dogs and Crabs and Bloods and Crips all over it... its sad that he is gone and the family must be hurting so much... i feel for them... it doesn't alleviate the pain or validate anyones reasoning for such a selfish act, but it seems to me that the media isn't telling the whole story.. See for yourself...

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=35139093

[Jo]

My deepest sympathy to the Shaw family for the loss of their son. This story touched me so much. For one thing Mrs. Shaw on her second tour of duty in Iraq, had to come home to bury her son because of a low life gang banger taking away her precious child. I'm so disgusted by all these innocent lives being taken and it just goes on year after year. Do we have any leaders in this country anymore? If so, why isn't something done to irradicate this problem. What happened to simply having respect for one another?

[JUST YOUR AVERAGE JOSE]

HOW MANY BLACK GANGS HAVENT KILLED INNOCENT HISPANIC TEENAGERS, INCLUDING MY BRO AND ALL OF SUDDEN IT HAPPENDS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SHOE AND CALLING IT A RACE WAR AND NOW JUST BECAUSE THIS CASE BROUGHT SO MUCH MEDIA THEY WANNA HUMILIATE ALL HISPANICS, AND WHAT HAPPENDS TO ALL THE OTHER UNSOLVE MURDER CASES???

[Roni-Louisville, KY]

To the family of Mr. Jamiel Shaw, Jr.

I seen his parents on the Today Show this morning and I was so touched by his story that it literally brought me to tears. I'm a mother of 3 boys and as a parent, you want them to out live you, not the other way around. For someone as young, bright, and gifted as Jamiel, my heart bleeds to hear about his life taken prematurely. However, as sad as it is, I have to give God all the Glory, for he has welcomed another angel back home to his house. Losing a life, especially someone as young as Jamiel hurts really bad, until you think about where he is. God is going to take care of this family. He predicted this was going to happen way before Jamiel took his first breath into this world. No we don't always like the way someone leaves this earth, especially in a violent way, but yet when God has control, we know we are going to be okay.

We need to pray for the individuals who took a part in this death. Whenever there's a violent death, we want to retaliate against the other individuals but God says vengenance is mine. Their souls will forever live in hell and burn if they don't seek God's face and ask for forgiveness.

I live n Louisville, KY where violence is the same as it is in California. I personally lost my brother and close friends to violent crimes, even the death of a young lady I use to mentor in high school. She too as Jamiel was, young, gifted, bright, full of opportunity, and black. I'm just hoping that each of us on this earth turn to God to handle our battles instead of weapons and force, then maybe, we will learn to live as God wanted us to.

God Bless

[Terry]

This brought back the murder of Robert Ballou also a football player at LA High back in 1972. I was in high school at the time and it was such a mind blower. Little did I know that I would marry and have 2 sons and they would experience the same incident, and I would have to help them cope and let alone try to explain the unexplainable. My prayers go out to the family.

[Universal LOVE]

The words to this song have so much truth, especially these days.

“We Gotta Have Peace” - Curtis Mayfield

We got have peace
To keep the world alive
And war to cease.
We got to have joy,
True in our hearts
With strength we can’t destroy.

People please hear us (people please hear us)
Through our voice the world knows
There’s no choice.
We’re begging save the children
The little ones
Who just don’t understand
Give them a chance
To breed their young
And help purify the land

And the people in the neighborhood,
Who would if they only could,
Meet and shake the other’s hand,
Work together for the good of the land.
Give us all an equal chance,
It could be such a sweet romance.
And the soldiers who are dead and gone,
If only we could bring back one,
He’d say “We’ve got to have peace”
To keep the world alive
And war to cease

[Citizen of Los Angeles County]

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Shaw,

We are praying for you. Please know that you are on the minds of so many of us here in Los Angeles County, and across the world. I am so sorry for the loss of your son, Jamiel. He is described as a wonderful young man and I believe we all would have been blessed to have known your son.

To the citizens of the County of Los Angeles,

Please know that we are going to continue losing our children and innocent citizens until 'we' fix this problem. For far too long 'we' have depended on our local and national government to protect us from crime that is happening in our neighborhoods, the crime that 'our' children are committing. Are we afraid of our children? Unfortunately the answer seems to be yes. Honestly (sadly, but honestly), I am afraid of your children too. I am a black man and I am afraid of my own people at times. The idea that members of my own race will kill me because I have on a certain color or because of mistaken identity is all but to true today. The idea that members of the Hispanic race will kill me because I have on a certain color or because of mistaken identity is all but to true today too.

There is tension between Black and Latino citizens. However, I am not sure why. This tension is not only evident in the streets of Los Angeles; it is also evident in our workplace, in our grocery stores, in traffic, etc. There are Black citizens who are colorblind and there are Latino citizens who are colorblind. This tension can be found in the traditions of our cultures. It has evidently been passed down from generation to generation, family to family and parent to parent. How do we rid our communities of this small amount of hatred towards each other that is causing so much anger, pain and the loss of our loved ones? Our government can arrest us for the crimes we commit, but the hate crimes that took young Jamiel’s life will only cease when we change our minds and begin to respect each other. The LAPD, Sheriff’s Department, Mayor or Governor can not accomplish this. It will have to be done by us.

PS – If gang violence is not considered a hate crime then
someone please explain to me what a hate crime
is. Why is murder considered a hate crime only
when the person who kills the other is of a different
ethnicity? GANG VIOLENCE ANYWHERE IS
HATRED!

[L.A. Native]

To the family of Jamiel Shaw my most sincere condolences. A tragedy that Jamiel's young and promising life was taken away from him by a bunch of thugs! I grew up in L.A. and gangs unfortunately have been a scourge on this city. But this issue is bigger than the police and the schools, it is not their responsibility to raise our children. It starts at home where parents need to teach their kids values and morals, otherwise the police and the justice system are just a futile bandaid on a rapidly growing wound. I ALSO WANT TO ADDRESS THE REMARK MADE BY TONY BELOW - How ignorant to assume that because the Mayor is Hispanic that he only cares about his Hispanic constituents. That is about as stupid as assuming that former mayor Tom Bradley only cared about his Black constituents. Maybe it easy for you to forget that it was Black perps that killed a Hispanic man and his son in south central or that for years thugs (who happened to be Black) preyed on Hispanics and guess what there was no big media outcry against. Once you take race out of the equation you deal with the real issue of violent crime that has pervaded the community! This isn't about race, this is about thugs (whether they be brown, black, white or purple) who have no respect for humanity. Get real and be honest about the issues. It is an ugly fact that "racism" exists in every ethnic group. Let us try and change it! Try being part of the solution and not part of the problem. Instead of trying to unite the community and encourage them to stop violence you are polarizing along racial lines.

[FRIEND OF THE FAMILY]

* YOU CAN MAKE DONATIONS @ THE USC CREDIT UNION ON CAMPUS @ USC. THAT IS THE ONLY WAY THEY ARE ACCEPTING DONATIONS.

[R. Aguilar]

My prayers go out to the Shaw family members and friends. It saddens me to see that this young man was shot to death without a reasonable explanation. I am an LA High alumni(class of '07) and I would actually see Jamiel Shaw(may his soul rest in peace) walking around school with his suit on the days of football games. He seemed like no harm to any other human being. The part in which shocked me completely was finding out Jamiel's alleged murderer, Pedro Espinoza. I have known Pedro Espinoza since I believe 2nd or 3rd grade. I have not heard anything about him since middle school and here I come to find that he is one of the suspects who has killed Jamiel. That really made me realize that it's a crazy world out here. The tension between different races has got to stop, even if this wasn't because of a racial issue, whatever the issue may have been, IT HAS TO STOP. We are killing our own people. I happen to be Hispanic and I don't believe that it's just Latinos killing blacks, it's vice versa aswell, let alone other ethnicites aswell, those whom don't even make it in the media. I am really hurt by this incident and I hope we see some change. Communites have to come together regardless of the color of our skin. May Jamiel Shaw Jr.'s soul rest in peace.
R.I.P Ur an Angel now watching over your family and friends

[waccy]

This is a very sad situation here. I have read many of the comments, and I have to say as a black male living in Los Angeles that the latino gang members and black gang members have different perceptions on black and brown violence. Now I dont know what this young man was wearing or how he responded to the person that killed him, but the latino gang members have been committing violence towards any black males as direct hatred for the color of their skin, not because of a gang affiliation. That doesnt tend to be the case on the other side of the ledger. Black gangmembers usually are looking for latino gangmembers, and while innocent or non affiliated latinos may be hurt it usually is not an assault on the color of their skin. Gangs are ridiculous, but are inevitable in a society that was built on that very concept since the invasion of Europeans on America. It exists everywhere in some form or fashion. The solution is not to set out to abolish the gangs but to change the way they think and behave. As a society we must first embrace them in order to understand them, then we can begin to change their daily course of actions. There is no simple fix. Gang mentality is a result of a collection of social disfunction, not just boredom, testosterone, ineducation, or poverty. I grew up in one of the most violent gangs in Los Angeles but is located in an upper middle class neighborhood with good schools and community recreation, but many of us still ventured down that dead end road. If this trend of hate crimes continue we are destined for an era such as experienced by blacks in the south by white supremecist groups, but only a two way street, creating a cultural divide in one the most diverse cities in the world. This will begin to involve innocent men, women and children,as depicted in this article, but would also begin to recruit these same people as soldiers out of a perceived need to defend themselves. Trying to make change by force never works. It may temporarily put a cease to certain actions but will never resolve the issue that was initially at hand, causing it to return. As human beings we have to start teaching and believing awareness and preservation of mankind in order to be able to cope with the future of this world which will someday be extremely crowded with scores of people with differing views, ethics and beliefs.

[CAROL ZANDERS]

TO ANITA,
MY HEART GOES OUT TO YOU DEAR SISTER IN CHRIST. I'M CHOKED UP WITH SADNESS KNOWING THAT I'VE FOUGHT SIDE BY SIDE WITH YOU IN IRAQ WITH 25H BSB (SBCT). MAY OUR HEAVENLY FATHER COMFORT YOU DURING YOUR TIIME OF BEREAVEMENT. KEEP YOUR TRUST IN GOD MY SISTER!I
CSZANDERS

[janet love]

THIS IS A STORY THAT HAD TO DO WITH A GANG ISSUE NOT WITH RACE, AND ALL THE MEDIA AND PEOPLE ARE MAKING IT SEEM LIKE IF IT WAS A BLACK VS HISPANICS THING , WHY IS IT THAT EVERYTIME A HISPANIC KILLS A BLACK ITS A HATE CRIME BUT WHAT ABOUT WHEN ITS THE OTHER WAY AROUND. ALL THESE BLACKS THINK THEY ARE VICTIMS NAH SO ARE WE WHEN UR RACE DOES THE SAME TO US.

[Hyacinth McLeod]

Dear Jamiel Shaw Sr.,
Please know that your family has my condolences for the loss of your son. I have lost a son also and I do know the feeling. I am affiliated with an organization that is putting on a Father's Day event and it would be our absolute pleasure to honor you at our event. Please contact me at 11102 Summertime Lane Culver City, California 90230. My contact numbers are (310) 839-6636 (home), (310) 591-7807 (cell). Thank you, I love you, and God bless you.
Sincerely,
Hyacinth McLeod

[TOrozco]

To Anita, Jamiel Sr. and my little friend Thomas my prayers are with you. Anita you are a great mother and friend stay strong. Jamiel Sr. you are an awesome dad and I pray that you stay strong and do the exact same thing for Thomas, he is your second chance. I wish all men would step up to the plate like yourself, congratulations on a job well done. God has a plan for all of us and you lived up to your end of the deal with Jamiel Jr. Thomas, I am just like you, I lost my only brother to Leukemia many years ago and he was my hero. I Love all of you and take care.

[mooky]

Im gonna miss ya J-Roc, rest in peace

[Dion & Robin Miles, Sr.]

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Shaw,

Our hearts go out to you. Our Son, Dion Miles, Jr. age 19 was shot and murdered on June 13, 2007 and he too was an innocent uknown to the 17 year old gang member who shot him. Our son was missing for 6 days before the LA Coroner contacted me at my office and made the notification over the telephone. I listed in absolute horror and wondered how I could possibly tell my husband that his son, his name sake and most favored child had been murdered. Unfortunately, Dion Jr. also now has a page on the Los Angeles Homicide Blog.

Our son's murderer was apprehended 13 days after the murder and just one day before the viewing of our son's body.

My husband and I watched you on television and cried as we listened to the story about what happened to your son. We have lived everyday since the killing of our son in pain and suffering as these senseless murders continue.

Shortly after the death of your son, our son's murder trial commenced in Compton Superior Court. The murderer, Kavon Jones was sentenced to 32 years in prison which is very little consolation to us as it will not bring back our son.

We pray that God gives you the strength to go through this ordeal and that at some point you find some peace and consolation of your loved one.

We are praying for you.

Sincerely,

Dion & Robin Miles, Sr.

[ray hutley]

i'm ex-military grew up in florida and oakland california. both places where i stayed you had to have a fight game
before the gun game,because if you had the fight game down pack the gun didn't mean nothing and i still feel the
same way today at my age of 45 years old. if all you people would get together make your voice count at city hall to bring in the national guards because it seems like a
lack of police can't be in every place when something goes down. an this real what i'm throwing at you about so
they can police better than the police. i'm still mess up now its bad beacuse i still pack a gun but i rather knock a
fool out with my hands i had to in which did in the past.
there's got be a way to stop the fools who doing foolist
acts on the streets. i feel for the parent's of this kid and the lady last year who was stabbed to death standing at
the bus stop waiting for the bus she didn't have to be my
mother but if god would have just let me see something like that i would have put something on his A'''''''s. so please my a voice threw city hall get the governor involve
beacuse alot of these people are just innocent. please...............listen god bless all families

[Coach G]

Janet love, i respect your opinion but i dont think this is the forum for that discusion... Besides nothing could be further from the truth,,, I grew up in south LA went to School in the southeast area of LA... hispanics and blacks have always interacted... at one point there where blacks in hispanic gangs and vice versa.... We've always embraced the latino culture.... but that culture has not always embraced us... at least not in recent years..... hispanics moved into south LA... did blacks try to drive them out....no... we welcomed them with open arms.... Dont think thats whats going on today!!!

this is a about something else.... RIP Jamiel Shaw

You didnt deserve this.... but God has a plan

Coach G

[Kim]

That sweet, young, hopeful face of Jamiel Shaw will haunt me forever. This never should have happened.

My deepest and heartfelt condolences to the family.

[Ana Gutierrez]

My prayers are with Jamiel's loved ones.
And to the person who mentioned Jamiel's page on myspace,notice that his last log in was in june 2007!

[Terry]

The LAT is now reporting the suspect is/was in the country illegally. Jamiel's mom was serving in Iraq, ostensibly for the security of the U.S., and he gets shot in cold blood by a criminal who just walks across the border.

[mike]

This is an outrage! It is beyond comprehension that our country would spend trillions of dollars overseas for some very opaque reasons while our youth are being butchered on our own streets. By whom you ask? if these killers were not just gang members but muslims, would that wake up our government? Would people continue to shrug their shoulders and ignore what is happening? I doubt it! Finally, what if the shooters had been white, can you imangine the rush to cover this story and the endless press coverage. Where is Al Sharpton and the other moralists? Ill be waiting for them to disembark from their planes and expose this injustice.

[Mark]

Heres is the link to the LA Times story.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-shaw23mar23,1,2665052.story

This is just wonderfull. ICE has a chance to identify a violent illegal alien and they fail. Jamiel should be alive right now, except there are too many activists in this state who are adamantly opposed to deportations of anyone.

I fail to see why its so hard to identify illegals while they're in jail. Everyone has an SSN. Everyone knows where they were born. And don't tell me that his lying to the authorities couldn't go undetected.

The Shaw family should be right in the face of their local representatives and throw red paint at their feet. Let them know their inaction on these criminals means the citizens of this country are paying in blood!!!!!!

[OG Nug]

when i first heard about this Race flew to mind Latino are trying to say what about the other side well the facts remain the same Race plays a part in most Latino killing of a black. you see the writing on the walls these are written by Latino Gangs N****Killer or M*****Killers in compton , habor gateway where ther ain't one black Gang in echo park these are pure Hate Crimes show me a black gang whom neigborhood has been indicted for hate crimes None but you have latino gangs indicted for these act of killing black for buying homes in the Avenues and in torrance the harbor gateway, so this kid was attack only because of his color and nothing else

[unico]

this is a very sad story. but it is not about illegal immigration! this kid was brought here by his parents who probably had no idea he would grow up to be a killer. this has nothing to do with immigration other than the fact that the ICE dropped the ball in not deporting a criminal when they had the chance. some of you are mistaken. latinos, and immigrant activists want to see the country purged of individuals who are not here to do good. we should be deporting criminals. if you are a hard worker tryin to make a living, then by all means go ahead and stay, the US needs you after all.
but if your a low life drug dealer, murderer who has nothing better to do than take a promising young man from his family then lockem up and once they done serving time send em back.
but this case is not about immigration.
everyone is looking for an answer as to why this happened to such a special young man. but dont make it into something else.
the real tragedy is that brother jazz will not fulfill his destiny in life.
all you other people tryin to make it into a immigration debate are just being disrespectful.

[Outraged Citizen]

I have read all the comments and have a few things to say.

To start with, my family's and I's sympathies go out to the family of this young man.
TO the people who say it is or is not a hate crime or a race war forget one important thing. The killer was an ILLEGAL ALIEN and the Mayor has announced that LA is a sanctuary city. IF the Mayor had not delclared it a sanctuary city, then this ILLEGAL would have been keep in jail and this atrocity would not have happened. I think all so called 'santuary cities' should have every bit of federal government monies pulled until they follow the LAW. Something those activist in the state seem to forget.
As a white man, I thought that only white, married, hetrosexual, Christan men could be convicted of a hate crime.
Also, why is it considered RACIST to call someone who is in this country ILLEGALLY an ILLEGAL alien? Hmmm. My ancestor came to this country legally. My wife's family came to this country legally. And statement, that there are jobs that no AMERICAN will do is just a bunch of hot air.
How many more of our children are going to be killed or assualted by ILLEGALS will it take for the people in LA to say to the Mayor's office...>ENOUGH<
I hope not too many more.

God Be With You, Mr. Shaw Jr.

[William Pequignot]

When I first heard about this story my thoughts and prayers went out to the Shaw family....I am still praying for this family. This is a tragedy on many levels and the biggest being the loss of this young man's bright future. The people of Los Angeles have to do something or this child's death will be in vain. Protest and continue to postest until Los Angeles is no longer a City of Sanctuary. Hold the Mayor, the CIty Board, and the elective officials accountable until these sort of situations become less-and-less. How do we get this started and when should we start? This should neve have happened.

[ruben]

Outraged Citizen

What are the facts of the murder rates from Illegal to Legal Citizens? About 10 to 1? Dont try and make this a Legal and ILLEGAL immigrant issue, this guy deserves what he gets, and i hope he rots in jail and i pray for the family of this poor kid who was taken from them, but DO NOT say that ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS are this cities BIGGEST problem, you've obviously just been watching WAY too much Lou Dobbs and CNN. We hav a GANG problem we have an EDUCATION problem we have a POVERTY problem and we even have a MEDIA problem (they cover Paris Hilton more than these murders) so i think we need to address these issues before we start pointing the finger at Illiegal Immigrants and Villaraigosa and his "sanctuary" comments (which by the way i've never heard).

My parents arrived here illegaly and my sister and i have grown up to be succesful TAXPAYING citizens and my sister probably takes care of you and your family because she is now a Doctor in this "sanctuary" city you call home, so please address the real issue.

RIP Jamiel Shaw Jr.,

[Daledo]

We have many important issues to deal with in this city. A previous poster mentioned the problems of Education, Poverty, Media Bias, and the problem of Gangs. I agree all of these are major issues and need to be addressed.

I would logically submit that a lack of an effective immigration policy is a major problem as well. This is difficult to talk about in a rational way because emotions and personal relationships cloud the eyes. I might have missed it, but I didn’t see any poster here say the illegal immigration is the BIGGEST problem in LA. I believe there is evidence that the lack of an effective policy has negative effects on legal residents of all races, incomes, and geography. Many stats show that it hurts the poorest the most.

It is not fair to say "I turned out OK so therefore this illegal immigration thing isn't a problem". You cannot use one example and extrapolate it to the entire issue. Although Education, Poverty, Media Bias, and Gangs are all problems; to ignore the role of illegal immigration is either ignorance or a lie.

An effective immigration policy would have seen this murderer deported after release. FACT. An effective immigration policy would have kept this murderer off the streets before he had the chance to take life of this ALL-WORLD young man. FACT.

Let's at least have a logical discussion. My deepest condolences to Jamiel's family and friends.

[Mark]

Ruben, if this murderers parents had not crossed the border, Jamiel would still be alive.

If ICE had deported the accused murderer had been deported, then Jamiel would still be alive.

Every crime commited by an illegal immigrant is a crime that could have been prevented.

[unico]

enough with the illegal immigrant stuff! this has nothing to do with the crime. this was a low life murderer who killed a promising young man. thats it. instead of fighting a war across seas we should fight the war against gangs. thats what all you should be worried about. fight gangs! so they dont take any more innocent lives. stop being disrespectful wo this young mans life and family. offer your condolences and leave all your politicking out of it.

[Daledo]

In an interview with CNN over the weekend, the dad spoke gently, softly about his boy. At times, tears streamed down his face.

"It's sort of hard to understand, especially now that we know that it all could have been avoided. It was so avoidable," Jamiel Shaw Sr. said.

Would you have the guts to tell this man, at this time that his son's death had NOTHING to do with our illegal immigration?

[MB]

This is a tragedy.

The Shaw famliy needs to look into legal action against I.C.E. on a negligence theory/ violation of civil rights (the only theory on which you can really sue the Gov't under the circumstances).

Why have I.C.E. if they are not going to do their job? We can't look the other way. Either we have an Immigration policy or an open border. If this Administration of I.C.E. cannot handle the job, we need to force them out and get an administration that will. This is democracy in action.

I think that though we would like to ignore it, there is a serious problem any time that non-citizens are killing citizens with any regularity. Illegal immigrants are nearly impossible to track in this country, and (quiet as its kept.) with a mini-race war going on in Habor -Gateway involving many of these immigrants, the Government has a responsibility to protect its citizen. That does not mean that there are not good people who have entered the country illegally. But a few bad apple can ruin it for everyone. You don't have to like this, but what does citizenship mean, if it is ignored in times like this?

[Pat]

It is true that Black and Brown have been fighting for years, why over drug turf. Black peolpe have always accepted other races into our neighborhoods. When mexicans move into our neighoborhoods, they want to force us out by killing innocent people. This was a hit. This young man was a target for this low life, who wanted to go back to jail and be higher in the ranks of some mexican gang. In order to get into these gangs you have to kill someone in or out of the jail. This thug that killed Shaw is known in the system and will have stripes in his gang know. Move your kids out of this death trap called Los Angeles. LA is a haven for death. The best thing Black people can do to stop this cycle of death is get out of Los Angeles. Let 'them" have this Hell. Thank You.. My heart goes out to the Shaw family. Take your 9 year old and move..Give him a better chance..

[JOHN ADAMS SR]

I REALLY FEEL FOR THE FAMILY. THIS IS GETTING REDICULOUS. I HAVE ONE SON AND IM A SINGLE FATHER .MY SON IS 19 .I HAVE NO ANSWERS BUT SOMETHING DRASTIC HAS GOT TO BE DONE!!!!!

[Peggy Sims]

Dear Anita and Family,

Hello Anita, This is Peggy Sims. I lived on the corner of central and Turmont in Carson. My brothers are Greg and Anthony Sims.we grew up together I lived on the corner house.
I would love to talk to you and your husbanc Please call me before you leave . I am so sorry to hear about your son. I would like for you to call me.

I extend my prayers and condolencenses to you and your family. I sympathize with you and your family. Please let me know what I can do to be a blessing to you..Your brother David and my brother Anthony where best friends. How is yiour Mom Betty?? and you rDad?

God Bless contact me
Peggy

God Bless You Emai me at the address I listed above.

Please email me so I can get in contact with you
avilaproductions_psa@yahoo.com

God Bless You All
Peggy

Thank You
Peggy Sims

[TINA YAMASHIRO]

MY HEART GOES OUT TO JAMIEL'S FAMILY HOWEVER WHAT THE FAMILY IS TRYING TO PASS THIS JAMIEL LAW THAT DIRECTS ONLY ILLIGAL IMMIGRANTS IS IN IT''S SELF VERY DISTRUBING. SINCE THIS IS NOT A RACIAL ISSUE BUT STRICTLY OF ALL GANG MEMBERS REGARDLESS OF COLOR WHO ARE INVOLVED IN GANG VIOLENCE.
THIS LAW SHOULD INCLUDE ALL YOUNG MEN WHO ARE GANG MEMBERS.
THIS IS NOT A FORUM OF JUSTICE.
I KNOW BECAUSE MY GREAT NIECE WAS KILLED IN MONROVIA ON JANUARY 26,2008 , SHE WAS ONLY 16YRS OLD.
ON APRIL 6 THIS LAST SUNDAY WE HAD A UNITY PEACE MARCH IN ARCADIA. HAND IN HAND WITH LATINOS AND AFRICAN AMERICANS FOR TWO VICTIMS GUNNED DOWN BY GANGS.
PEACE IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO SO THAT ALL VICTIMS FAIMILIES MAY COME TO HEAL.
WHAT ARE WE TEACHING OUR CHILDREN BY THIS LAW.
MANY BLESSINGS

[ssdesigns]

This guy just got out of jail the day before and then killed Jamal.. unbelievable. LA police/ ICE did not look into legal status of this guy before they let him go? This makes no sense. Checking immigration status of criminals and deporting would not solve the gang problem but it probably would have let Jamal live another day. The government make it seem so difficult to find out immigration status. It's interesting though when you get hired at a company they verify this information pretty fast.

[Mark]

I hope the homicide blog keeps track on the progress of the accused in going to trial.

The community demands it from the media. We want real news, not American Idol or Brittany Spears nonsense.

[Misty]

If you read through this blog, so much blame is placed on race, gangs, legality of immigration status... THINK FOR ONE MINUTE IF EVERYONE IN THIS WORLD WAS BLIND AND NOBODY KNEW THE RACE/GENDER/AFFILIATION of anyone else...we wouldnt have 3/4 of the murders we do today. We see a murder in the news or witness the murder of a friend... a senseless murder... and we want not only "justice" or revenge on the suspect... but we want revenge of the "classification" of the suspect. A black man who murders someone does not mean that all black men are murderers... it means that THAT BLACK MAN is a murderer. Our society is too wrapped up with categorizing people and presuming they all share the same characteristics. Characterizing (not discriminating against) people based on things we have control over is understandable because it reflects their morals and beliefs (gang affiliation, religion, sports activities, hobbies), but judging people based on their physical traits (race, gender, hair color) is the reason our society is how it is today - you cant judge a person based off soething they have no control over.

It will take a lot of work for LA to become a safe place to live. It is hard to teach thousands of people that the actions of one black/white/hispanic person do not mean that every other person of that race will act the same. And in a place where nobody knows any different, its especially hard to teach different. I know many successful individuals who are black, hispanic, white, female, male... the color of your skin and gender do not make you who you are - its the environment you surround yourself with. If you don't like living in fear, move somehwere you don't have to. It is so sad to see such a motivated individual's life be taken away, and his family's life torn apart, not because of his accomplishments but because of his environment. I must be naive because I had no idea that violence based off of such senseless motives still occurred.

I dont know the answer, but I give all of my condolences to the familys and friends of those who lost a loved one. I just lost my best friend. She was a "white girl" who was last scene with her "black drug dealer" (who was also on parole for murder/rape charges of unconscious women). You can only imagine the stories I've seen about "white girls" getting attention and "black on white crime". It doesnt matter. What matters is that a life was lost and will never be returned. The justice system needs to take care of the criminals responsible for such acts so that citizens and friends of victims won't feel the need to take matters into their own hands.

Thanks for listening.

[James Crowley]

Please, LAPD, destroy the gangs. We have had enough. They are terrorists destroying lives, senselessly, needlessly.

Not one more parent should have to grieve the loss of their child.

The gangs must be destroyed. Use every tool to destroy the gangs, whether it's Special Order 40, asking immigrant status, random stop and search teams (like field sobriety checks), whatever. But do it NOW.

RIP Jamal.

[Telma Avila]

My heart goes out to your family. I know the feeling I know what you're going through. My son Kevin was shot three times in Oct. 2007, he had just turned 23. He was married and had a son of 19 months but, at the time he was just 1 in Sept. him, his wife, and the baby had celebrated their birthdays they were all in Sept. He was so proud of his son he was everything to him. But now all has changed since that fateful morning of Oct. 20, 2007, when a male Latino/ Latinos in a grey to silver Chrysler 300 pulled a gun and shot him multiple times without a warning . All he was going to do was meet with his best friend to chat a little and get a bite to eat before his wife went to work. My son died instantly he never had a chance. Just like your husband I too heard the shots because my son and his family lived across the street from us in a little guest house. They had just moved in there one month before. But I did not know it was him who had gotten shot. Our lives have changed forever. My son misses his brother they were the best of friends besides being brothers. Just like your son Kevin was not a gang member nor did he have any affiliation with gangs. My family and I are all educators. He worked for Washington Mutual and was very well liked by all. He had a very keen sense of humor there was never a day that he would not come and say hello before going to work or saying goodnight before retireing to his family. It has been six months and untill now we know nothing about the murderer /s you were very lucky to have had the killer captured within days. All I get from the Foothill Division is " We're working on it" They rarely return my calls I would like to get some closure to this. There is not a day that goes by without me crying myself to sleep, I try to be strong for my younger sons but it is hard to also keep an appearance at school where I work. Anyway just like you I feel something has got to get done to get all these gangs off our streets and stop them from killing any more innocent children. His son Jordan will never know the kind of father Kevin was. But I know that the Lord is the only Judge and those people will have their day with him.

[sick of the drama]

Its really sad that another kid had to die because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Oh wait...he was headed to the one place that should be safe to all kids, home. His mom is out fighting for all of us and his dad was busy raising two boys to be men, not coward drug running losers. News flash to all the VATOS LOCOS out there...not every black guy is in a gang. And to all the thugs on the black side, not every hispanic is in a gang. I think that this country needs to bring back public execution. In the "dark" ages there was alot less violence against others.

If you feel the need to kill someone please join the military so that you can shoot at the people we are supposedly at war with.

[TRTUTH SEEKER]

If you go to his page on myspace and look at his headline. It's clear that he was gang affiliated despite any report that may say other wise.

30K means Harlem 30's Killa
EK means 18th Street Killa.

So he obvioulsy had some issues with rival gangs. Looks like he wasn't so innocent after all.

http://www.myspace.com/185526611