A youth ‘on track’ until fatal gunfire
Football player’s dreams die in a flurry of bullets in South L.A.
Los Angeles Times
Stanford University called about Jamiel Shaw a week or so ago, intrigued by the slight but speedy running back for Los Angeles High School, the Southern League’s most valuable player last year. Rutgers University called a few days later.
The Shaw family already had reason to be proud. Jamiel’s mother, Army Sgt. Anita Shaw, was on her second tour of duty in Iraq.
Jamiel Sr. heard the shots almost as soon as he hung up. He ran out of the house, raced around the corner and found his son lying on the sidewalk, bleeding.
“She’s over there trying to protect us from guns and bombs, and then she has to hear that her son is dead over here,” he said of Anita on Monday. “I’ve got my own personal Iraq now.”
Los Angeles police officials described the killing as random and senseless, cutting down a youth who had been doing everything right in his life — from hitting the books to never missing church to inspiring the Los Angeles High Romans to last year’s Southern League title.
A police spokeswoman said two Latino men pulled up in a car, jumped out, asked Jamiel if he belonged to a gang, and shot him when he didn’t answer. She said Jamiel was not affiliated with a gang.
Jamiel’s teammates called him the “the spirit of the team.”
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L.A. shares blame in teen’s death
LA Daily News
By Doug McIntyre, Columnist
Doug McIntyre hosts the “McIntyre in the Morning” program on Talk Radio 790 KABC
ANITA Shaw says, “My country let me down.”
It’s hard to argue with her. Not only did America let Anita Shaw down, so did California and Los Angeles.
Truth be told, Anita Shaw is being diplomatic, if not generous, by not lashing out in righteous indignation at the massive tragedy she has suffered at the hands of an indifferent government. Our government: federal, state and local.
Who is Anita Shaw and why should you care what she says? Pull up a chair.
Anita Shaw is a sergeant in the United States Army. On March 2, little more than a month ago, she was serving in Iraq when her CO told her to report to the Red Cross office. It was there she learned her 17-year-old son, Jamiel Shaw II, had been murdered – gunned down exactly three doors away from his own home.
Jamiel Shaw Sr. heard the shots that killed his son; one to the chest, one between the eyes. Jamiel Sr. sprinted down the block, arriving just ahead of the police. The cops found him standing over his son, already dead, still clutching the cell phone he had used to tell his dad he’d soon be home. Now he was never coming home.
But his mother was. Sgt. Shaw was given 20 minutes to pack for a flight out of Baghdad.
Jamiel Shaw was a star football player with a solid GPA and a bright future. He was the apple of his father and mother’s eye; a hero to his kid brother, 9-year-old Thomas. Tom Shaw wanted to be a football player like Jamiel. Maybe even wear his big brother’s number 4. That was before. Now Thomas wants to be “a scientist” so he can “invent a time machine” and go back and save his brother.
Shaw’s killer? Police believe they have him – 19-year-old Pedro Espinosa, an illegal alien gangbanger, a killer for the 18th Street Gang.
And here’s how America let Sgt. Shaw down: Pedro Espinosa should never have been allowed into this country.
Here’s how California failed Sgt. Shaw: It allowed Pedro Espinosa to live in a state that does nothing about its open borders except shift the blame to Washington.
Here’s how Los Angeles failed Sgt. Shaw: We accommodated gangs, we still throw out the welcome mat for illegal aliens, we allowed Pedro Espinosa to serve 180 days on gun charges without checking his immigration status. We released Espinosa onto the streets, and 24 hours later he murdered Jamiel Shaw II.
While Jamiel’s mother patrolled the streets of Baghdad, helping spare Iraqi mothers the grief Los Angeles visited upon her, we did nothing. This transcends outrage. It’s obscene.
The ultimate responsibility for the murder of Jamiel Shaw rests with the triggerman. But let me be blunt – the cowardice of local politicians who hide behind political correctness and racial pandering as an excuse to look the other way on the mounting death toll perpetrated by illegal aliens are enablers of death.
This may be uncomfortable for some to read. I assure you it’s uncomfortable to write. Jamiel Shaw’s death was preventable. The president, Congress, the governor, the state Legislature, the mayor, the City Council, the County Board of Supervisors, the chief of police, the county sheriff – all of us failed him.
The son of a U.S. solider was murdered on the streets of L.A. What are we going to do about it? What are you going to do about it?
The good intentions that created Special Order 40 surely weren’t intended for gangbangers. Personally, I believe Special Order 40 has been a vast and deadly failure. It’s a poverty and crime magnet for L.A. and every other city that has its equivalent.
But whatever view you hold on sanctuary-city policies, can’t we at least agree the special consideration given illegal aliens by Order 40 should not apply to domestic terrorists? Gangbangers should be hunted down just like international terrorists. In fact, a case can be made Pedro Espinosa is an international terrorist.
We need to pass “Jamiel’s Law.” We need to force every local politician to explain how they are not complicit in the murder of Shaw. We can’t return Jamiel to his mother, however, we can restore her faith in the country she has served better than it has served her.
Wild Thing’s comment……..
The fault of this starts at the top with President Bush and his LOVE for illegal aliens. For his NOT securing our borders and for his wanting to put their comfort, desires and demands ABOVE the citizens of this country.
The blame trickles down from the office of the President to the Gov. and all involved.
Look to the liberals to blame for this.Bush LIBERAL, Arnie LIBERAL, the list is long and each name disgusting.
I am so sick of these people saying they are conservatives JUST to get elected and then they do their liberal crap like they do about illegals. And we are in for more of this too since we have three liberals running to sit in the Oval Office. None of them are worthy that is for damn sure.
And I can’t help but wonder what our soldiers must be thinking…going off to risk their lives, while their loved ones here are so vulnerable and their CIC absolutely flat out refuses to EFFECTIVELY SECURE OUR BORDERS…risking loosing the WAR, not in Iraq, not in Afghanistan, but right here in our own backyards.
“we allowed Pedro Espinosa to serve 180 days on gun charges without checking his immigration status. We released Espinosa onto the streets, and 24 hours later he murdered Jamiel Shaw II”
How damn hard is it to verify someone’s residency after being arrested? And, if they’re found to be ILLEGALLY here, why cannot they be deported after the complete their sentence.
We already HAVE perfectly good laws to deal with illegal immigration. The focus should be on enforcing them, rather than creating yet another law that we won’t enforce.
The question to the three running for President should be are YOU willing to call up a soldier to tell her that her son has been murdered by an illegal alien????!!!!
President Bush, Chertoff, Congress, Schwartzeneggar, State reps, LA City Council, Mayor Villagroisa, etc.
She should place all the blame exactly where it belongs. I would be screaming from the rooftops to ANYONE that would listen.
And to think they are working on another May 1 illegal alien march in L.A. This would be the perfect time for her to make her point and demand that the before mentioned ‘officials’ obey our country’s laws and protect citizens.
It really makes me sick and angry. I lived in California for 28 years, the State itself is the most beautiful I have ever seern. The coastline drive is like non other. It is the LIBERALS that have messed with it and are destroying so much about California.
But this illegal alien problem is not only in Calif. it is in every State and those in charge should be held accountable each and every time one of the illegals commits a crime against an American citizen.
Inner city LA is in a blue state… Hillary is courting the Latino vote and lost a lot of the black vote… Obama is half and half (Zebra) and isn’t black enough for the blacks and wants the Latino vote … And the DNC wants inmates and felons to VOTE? Hmmmmm ? The NAACP / ACLU will probably say that this crime happened because the LAPD weren’t doing there job, and if the victim’s parent wasn’t deployed to Iraq, he’d still be alive? So it’s ‘W’s’ fault…?
When I first read this story, I cried buckets for the family. He was their ticket out of the hood, but noooo, some illegal a-hole had to ruin it.
This was a good kid–he was going places and he was taking his family with him.
We had this happen here too last year. A young man gunned down in front of his mother. He had been in a gang, but had gotten out and was straightening out his life to care for his family. Then his younger brother, a star football player at Northwest High collapsed on the football field and nearly died. His football days are over; he is trying to relearn everything.
Why is it good families end up having tragedy happen to them?
You don’t go shooting someone because they don’t answer a simple question, especially if they don’t know you!
Illegal Aliens: Killing the Americans that Americans won’t.
How many more innocent Americans are going to have to die before the government and Liberals realize that our very liberties and lives are being attacked?
Excellent and surprising commentary for a LAT writer.
We all know what the problem is with illegal aliens and how to fix it. But, it won’t happen. Politicians like the economics of illegals. It makes the economy look better and helps with their reelection. They look at illegals as potential voters and the politicians also look at illegals helping to delay the eventual insolvency of the Ponzi scheme known as Social Security.
The three presidential candidates are open border supporters, so there will be no change in that policy in the White House. It will be up to local and state governments to enact and enforce laws against illegals. A very big, but potentially doable task if public support helps.
This is surprising that the press even reported this.
Another American Kid murdered by an illegal alien. We have drunk drivers running down Americans or driving into to them, killing them. We have border Sheriff’s being assassinated by .50 snipers form the other side of the border. People are being kidknapped and no one reports it.
But we put our own border Agents in jail for enforcing the law.
When do we get together collectively as a people and say enough is enough. About this time 100 years ago we sent the Army to the border to deal with exactly this same style of ruthlessness.
We have run full circle and it is time to send the Army back to the border.
The donks have a 150 plus year legacy of legislating away our freedoms to protect their right to exploit and control the blacks. Hispanics of alien descent are just another constituent for them to exploit for political gain. There is no need for new laws that only restrict the law abiding and take away another civil liberty.
Remember that before we rush in to forfeit our Constitutional guarantees for, “Jamiel’s Law“, just where the problem really lies. On 12 June 2007–At its regular meeting, the Los Angeles City Council told the Department of Homeland Security in no uncertain terms that the autonomy of the LAPD was a paramount concern to the council in a 10 to 1 vote in support of a resolution opposing “any [federal] legislative provision or amendment which would prohibit or pre-empt local separation’ ordinances and similar local regulations such as the LAPD’s Special Order 40.” The resolution is a rebuke from the U.S.’s largest immigrant city to various Congressional proposals mandating that local law enforcement report to federal immigration enforcement.
Like the City of Berkely the City of Los Angeles has become the sanctuary of not only the misfit but the gangs and illegals, it’s up to the voters of Los Angeles County and the city of Los Angeles to vote out the council and instill leaders who will enforce the law of the land, until then more like Jamiel Shaw are going to pay the price for their form of freedom. Just what will the Marxists Half Honky all Donkey and the Hildebeest propose, blue helmeted peacekeepers in the streets of my nation?
So sad…so very sad!!!! My heart goes out to this family for their tremendous loss!!!! And yet we are letting this happen all over the country. And yes, I said “We”!!! It is no different that the death of Ricky Martinez, Jr. in Chicago (WT reported about the heart transplant). It is terrorism in the streets of America…..killing of U.S. citizens by illegal crap heads!!!!
When is it going to stop? I agree with Mark….Only when enough TRUE Americans have had enough and start taking it to the politicians at all levels!!! I agree that we do not need another Federal Law….just enforce the current ones on the books and let the local communities take charge!! Oh yes……and remove the STUPID laws like Special Order 40!!!!
My only problem with this Jamiel’s Law is that it is being sponsored by another wannabe politician. Is he really sincere about this or is it just another ploy to get votes? If he is sincere about this, then he should be soliciting the help of all other politicians. Make them put their money where their mouth is!!!!
Another interesting stat……..there were 324 murders in L.A. in 2007. If we compare that to the death toll in the Middle East for 5 years, the death toll in L.A. would be 1,620!!!! More than 1/4th of the total U.S. deaths in the Middle East!!! And that is just ONE city in the United States!!!!! If we add in Washington DC, Detroit, New York, Chicago, Miami, etc……we would have more people murdered on our own streets that in Iraq and Afghanistan!!!!! But you don’t see the news media running a Death Total for that do you?!?!?!!
Pathetic…Pathetic….Pathetic!!!!!
Darth, I put the blame for the illegals starting at the top and that is Bush. He is all for the illegal aliens and needs to take a hard stand on them. His influence and his giving the ok for all of this happening not sending them back is wrong and this guy could have been sent back when he finished his jail term.
Lynn, I had to read it twice I wanted to make sure the son had not been into something bad and then to find out he was such a remarkable kid. A truly good son, student and friend and then to have this happen. Top that off with it done by an illegal was just the worst of all.
Bob you’re right and it not a word from the higher ups about this. They should feel so shameful and responsible for this but they don’t.
Tom yes I was shocked actually to see the LA times do such a good and honest job on the write up.
Mark I agree….”We have run full circle and it is time to send the Army back to the border.”….
And this whole thing treating the agents by putting them in jail, then not sending these criminals back…..none of it makes sense.
Jack thanks for that information, I didn’t know about that and for the link too.
Yes they have got to get active those that live there, vote these people out and if at all possible make changes. I remember from living there how much in the minority we conservatives were.
One time we voted something in to stop the illegals and the lefties too the final vote to a judge and he overturned it. It was like our voted didn’t count at all to have the whole thing changed like that from one gavel hit by a leftist judge.
John wow amazing, thank you so much for those stats. You’re right too we don’t see this in the news.