6yearold ‘bright star’ was caught in cross fire
Political leaders in San Francisco expressed outrage Monday at the killing of a 6yearold boy who was caught in gunfire on the Fourth of July as he was outside celebrating with family in the Bayview district.
The killing of Jace Young, who his family described as a “bright star,” “rips at the heart of our city,” Mayor London Breed and Supervisor Shamann Walton said in a joint statement Monday.
They said “thoughts and prayers are not enough” to heal the community, and they vowed “investing in our Black children’s lives and ending the gun violence that continues
from generation to generation.”
Nate Ford, who identified himself as Jace’s uncle, said he was not present at the party, but he rushed to join the rest of Jace’s family at the hospital, where the boy succumbed to a gunshot wound.
“It was just terrible,” Ford said. “We knew he was going to be something. He was a good kid.”
At about 10:44 p.m. Saturday, San Francisco police were dispatched to a call of a shooting near the 1200 block of Ingalls Street, where they found Jace suffering from a gunshot wound. A second adult male victim, whose age was not released, also suffered a gunshot wound and was hospitalized with nonlifethreatening injuries.
Officer Robert Rueca, a spokesman for the Police Department, said investigators do not believe the shooting was random, but neither Jace nor the other victim appears to have been the intended target.
“They were innocent bystanders caught in cross fire,” Rueca said.
Ford said Jace was intelligent and empathetic beyond his years. He was already computer literate, always chose milk over soda and refused to eat meat.
“Because it will kill animals,” Ford recalled Jace saying.
A San Francisco police report states there were two shooting suspects, but Rueca said investigators are still trying to confirm if that information is correct. Police do not believe the shootings were the result of celebratory gunfire.
Officials said the boy was outside celebrating with a large group of people when the shooter or shooters approached. Police did not release information on whether the suspects fled the scene on foot or in a vehicle.
Ford said both Breed and Walton have reached out to the family and been “instrumental” in the grieving process. Ford said the mayor planned to visit the family Monday.
“When we talk about supporting the AfricanAmerican community, we have to remember the young people like Jace who have the right to live their lives in peace,” Breed and Walton said in their statement.
“We have to take a closer look at how we are investing in our communities so that we are actually making a difference in the lives of Black people,” the statement read. “It’s not just about marching. It’s about doing the hard work after the march, engaging practically and constructively to lift people up out of the cycle of poverty and violence that has ripped us apart for far too long.
“This cannot be business as usual. We must put down the guns – everyone must put down the guns – and turn our sights on the long, hard work ahead.”
San Francisco’s top lawenforcement officials also expressed their sadness over the shooting and called for justice.
“Senseless violence like this that could so tragically claim the life of a small child is unacceptable in our City,” San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said in a statement Sunday. “The San Francisco Police Department stands with the Bayview Hunters Point community in its determination to bring the perpetrator or perpetrators to justice.”
San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin said the crime was “absolutely devastating,” and he called for greater gun control.
“My team is working hard to support his family,” Boudin wrote on Twitter on Sunday evening. “But we can’t bring him back or make their family whole. We must do more to decrease access to guns and prevent this senseless violence.”
No arrests have been made and no description of the suspect or suspects was released. About eight officers gathered near the intersection of La Salle Avenue and Whitfield Court late Monday morning to continue searching the scene for clues.
Scott said the case is an active homicide investigation, and he urged anyone with information to contact the department’s 24hour tip line at 4155754444 or text tips to TIP411.
The killing was San Francisco’s 22nd homicide of this year.