I said it in my last While You Were Sleeping and I'll say it again: you can't just hashtag things and get
upset when young Black men are killed by just the police. 12 year old
Jason Spears of San Bernardino (on the right) was shot and killed
while his 14 year old cousin Terrance Spears was wounded last Sunday
night. Jason's aunt had to point out that the boys were not gang
affiliated. “We sit at our house. We talk to our neighbors. That's
it. Now my sister has to bury her 12-year-old son. For what? Because
he went to the store to get some chips?”
At 10pm a dark colored SUV opened fire
on the boys. Police are checking all available cameras to get a lead
on the shooter. After being shot the boys managed to run to a nearby
store. Jason died while Terrance called for help inside the store.
Elsa Castro (sometimes listed as Elisa) that was at the store at the
time said “I seen the other little boy go inside limping because he
was shot in the leg and the other one collapsed right here on his
jaw. I turned him over and was telling him, 'Please baby boy,
breathe' I just don't understand why they would do this.”
Another issue that is coming out in the
wake of this shooting is the response time of law enforcement.
Paramedics and firemen are stationed less than 200 feet where the
boys were shot but they had to wait about eight minutes for police to
arrive which means that was eight minutes the boys were hurt and
dying while having no help. I know it sounds crazy, because it is and
isn't at once, but during violent crimes you have to wait until
police arrive. A lieutenant also pointed out that the fact that there
was a shift change during the time of the shooting may have led to a
smaller response time. Good information to put out there for
criminals. There were also cutbacks a few years ago and their budget
was slashed in half.
