For Fresno, this is the 38th homicide of the year, and for me, this is a friend whose life was taken by violence.
I knew the victim. I can’t believe I was just hanging out with him a few weeks ago. We have known one another for about six years.
The house my mom used to live in was right behind his, so our backyards were connected. The only thing separating us was a fence about five feet high. We would chill outside and have conversations, laugh and talk. He would feed his dog and I would just be there, leaning on the fence.
What’s funny about this was that we never even crossed over into one other’s backyards more than once or twice over the years we knew one another.
[pullquote_right]When I got that phone call around 1:30 a.m. from another close friend of his, it was so hard to believe.[/pullquote_right]And now, I can’t believe that he’s gone. Police say that a car pulled up to the home and an argument took place between the people inside the car and the victim when the shooting took place. There are some witnesses, but the suspect is still out there. The police don’t think this shooting was gang-related, but no one really knows for sure. It could have been since this area is known for its gangs.
As I remember him, I know he would have been a great comedian. All we did was joke on each other a lot when we hung out. We knew a lot of the same people so I can only imagine how difficult this loss is for everyone else.
When I got that phone call around 1:30 a.m. from another close friend of his, it was so hard to believe. I couldn’t even sleep at all because this loss was such a big slap of reality.
It made me realize that life should be cherished because it can get snatched away any second. It is sad how youth violence affects our community and the people in it. And I don’t think that it will stop anytime soon, as long as gangs exist.
R.I.P VICTOR. Save us a spot up there. We’ll see you again one day.
In 2006, over 25 youth began participating in weekly after-school writing workshops where they congregated in the hallway of a two-story building in West Fresno and learned the essentials of creating media and telling their stories. The group evolved over the next five years and is now proudly recognized as The kNOw Youth Media.
Through our program, we create opportunities for our youth participants, who in turn create long-term positive change in their communities. Our approach weaves youth development and youth media innovation to produce our biannual youth publication, multimedia projects, and community forums.
The kNOw began as a project of New America Media, which was the country’s first and largest national collaboration and advocate of 2000 ethnic news organizations. In 2018 The kNOw became a project of Youth Leadership Institute.
