‘ My brother was only 12’
Friends and family mourn Jason Spears, an ‘ awesome kid’ slain on his way to a store.
Mourners at the funeral of a 12- year- old San Bernardino boy Monday urged community members to take action to f ight the increasing violence that has rocked the struggling city in recent months.
Sixth- grader Jason Spears was fatally shot March 13 as he walked to a convenience store to buy a bag of chips. His 14- year- old cousin was wounded in the attack.
His death marked the 15th slaying in San Bernardino this year, about double the number at the same time last year.
Since Jason died, two others have been killed.
“It’s time for us to take back our communities,” Pastor Joshua Beckley told the crowd of several dozen mourners, including Jason’s classmates and elementary school teachers.
Beckley said his church, Ecclesia Christian Fellowship, was looking into occupying a building in the east San Bernardino neighborhood where Jason was killed and offering programs and services for young people.
“I think God is trying to tell us, ‘ If you don’t want no more Jasons, you better do something,’ ” he said.
The boy’s death drew an outpouring of grief in the city of about 210,000 residents and has brought attention to the long- simmering problem of violence. Even before the recent shootings, San Bernardino had one of the highest violent crime rates in Southern California.
Police have been hampered by budget cuts that sharply reduced staffing since the city’s 2012 bankruptcy.
Since Jason’s death, community groups and churches have held peace walks and vigils to urge solutions.
“My brother was only 12. He was too young, the way I see it,” Jason’s brother Alexander Spears told mourners.
Family and friends recalled Jason as a silly young man who loved reenacting scenes from supernatural TV shows and playing video games.
Kimberly Telphy, a counselor at Arrowview Middle School, where Jason was a student, remembered him as an “awesome kid,” one who would step in when other kids were being picked on.
Renita Marshall, Jason’s fourth- grade teacher, said that above all, Jason adored his family.
Jason’s two brothers and three of his cousins were among his pallbearers. As photos of the boy were projected at the front of the church, the young men, dressed in black, buried their heads in their hands and cried.
“I’m praying for you,” Marshall told Jason’s family. “This whole city is praying for you.”