WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 The mother of a 13-year-old boy who was killed while breaking into parked cars said Wednesday that she wanted 鈥渏ustice for my child鈥 and claimed the resident charged in connection with his death set the violence in motion by opening fire when he was not under any threat.
鈥淚t could have gone a whole different way,鈥 said Londen Blake, whose son Karon was killed on Jan. 7. Facing over the shooting, police with second-degree murder while armed.
The arrest warrant says Karon, a seventh grader, was part of a group of youths apparently robbing parked cars, and that he ran straight toward Lewis before Lewis opened fire. The charges don鈥檛 hinge directly on the shots that killed Blake, but rather on an earlier gunshot that Lewis didn鈥檛 mention in his initial statement to police.
Londen Blake, who has three younger children, did not dispute the police contention that her son was part of a group of youths breaking into cars at 4 a.m.
鈥淜ids do things that parents aren't always aware of,鈥 she said. 鈥淏ut Karon came from a good home.鈥
Lewis is charged with firing first at a young man from the group who remained seated in what turned out to be a stolen car. In the confusion after that first shot, Karon Blake apparently ran directly toward Lewis and was fatally wounded.
鈥淭he first shot was fired ... at someone sitting in a vehicle who wasn鈥檛 an immediate threat,鈥 Police Chief Robert Contee said on Tuesday. This original shot, when Lewis had no claim of being personally under threat, was 鈥渨here things really unraveled鈥 and 鈥減ut the chain of events into place鈥 that resulted in the youth鈥檚 death, Contee said.
Lewis' attorney maintains that his client acted in self-defense. He is being held without bond pending a Feb. 13 court date.
Contee has encouraged the youths who were with Blake that night to come forward to police with their own testimony. But he has stopped short of promising any sort of amnesty from criminal charges.
鈥淢y assessment is that these young men obviously need some sort of intervention,鈥 he said Tuesday. 鈥溍 want to make sure they get what they need.鈥
Londen Blake's lawyer, Brian McDaniel, disputed that characterization Wednesday.
鈥淚 would say that they are in need in support, he said. 鈥漈hey're in need of direction and sometimes they are in need of forgiveness."
McDaniel said his office planned to 鈥渒eep a close eye on the prosecution.鈥
鈥淢r. Lewis was not responding to any threat. Mr. Lewis was probably angry,鈥 he said.
Mayor Muriel Bowser made an apparent reference to the Blake shooting Wednesday when discussing another shooting in which a gunman killed one person and wounded two others before being on a Metro train.
鈥淲e鈥檙e focused on how we get guns out of our city,鈥 Bowser said. 鈥淲hether it鈥檚 the Metro, it鈥檚 the street, it鈥檚 in individual homes, we know that we have guns that are creating tragedies in our city and in our nation.鈥
