Way To Close To Home

This story hits close to home. Way too close! This occured on the street where I live, meaning the victim was a neighbor. It is a sad story, not just for the victim, but for the young man that committed the crime and has no idea what hell his life is going to become.
Teen shot to death on Lancaster street
16-year-old suspect taken into custody at apartment
This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press
Wednesday, October 22, 2008.

By DAISY RATZLAFF
Valley Press Staff Writer
LANCASTER - An 18-year-old who had been walking with a friend was fatally wounded after three other teens confronted the pair on a Lancaster street, deputies said.

Kwame Addison and his friend ran after a fistfight broke out, but one of the trio pulled out a gun and fired, hitting Addison several times, deputies said.

"This ain't right," said Evette Gordan, a neighbor and friend of Addison's family. "He lived in L.A. all his life, and then he moves out to Lancaster and gets shot. And it was in broad daylight, two schools are close by, and it is a busy street. Who goes around carrying a gun and starts shooting people?"

Within minutes of the shooting, Lancaster deputies detained five males who were spotted standing outside a nearby apartment complex and who ran when they saw the deputies. One is expected to be released as he was not involved in the shooting, deputies said.

The suspected gunman is a 16-year-old, deputies said. He suffered a cut to his head and was examined by medical personnel.

At the complex, deputies said they discovered bloody shorts and a shirt.

Deputies said Addison and his friend were walking along the sidewalk on Avenue K near Sixth Street East about 2 p.m. Tuesday when they were approached from behind by three teenagers, officials said.

When a fight broke out, Addison ran, but was shot at least three times, deputies said. He ran across an adjoining field, then collapsed on Sixth Street East, close to his house, sheriff's officials said.

Addison was found by neighbors, who heard the shots and tried to help him before calling his mother, Latonya Jones.

"I was inside the house when I heard the shots," said a neighbor, who asked not to be identified. "He was just laying there, full of blood. It looked pretty bad."

Gordan said Addison's mother came to her home to tell her what happened.

"She was banging on the door and yelling, 'My baby has been shot!' " Gordan said.

Addison, in very critical condition, was flown to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, where he was pronounced dead, officials said.

After the shooting, more than 20 deputies searched the field looking for blood and other evidence, authorities said. The field as well as Sixth Street East were blocked with patrol cars and crime-scene tape. The apartment house in the 43500 block of Kirkland Avenue was also surrounded with crime-scene tape.

Deputies were waiting for a warrant to search the apartment in which the 16-year-old lived.

Gordan said she was shocked by the shooting.

"He was a good kid," Gordan said of Addison. "You know, he got side-tracked for a little bit, but he was back on. … It is unbelievable. Shot around the corner from his home. Are you serious?"