A tragic tale of youth cut short, of lives forever altered on an afternoon that should have been as mundane as any other. One young man has lost his life, and two others are nursing wounds, in the wake of a stabbing outside their high school in Southern California. What’s more, two of their very own classmates stand accused of this horrifying act.
The cruel dance unfolded in front of Santa Ana High School just after the dismissal bell had rung, around 3:25 p.m. on Wednesday. Santa Ana, a city tucked about 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles, became the stage for this chilling drama. A 14-year-old boy, a child really, paid the ultimate price, succumbing to his injuries in the hospital. Two others, aged 15 and 16, were left nursing their wounds, but thankfully, in stable condition.
This wasn’t some random act. According to Santa Ana’s police spokesperson, Natalie Garcia, the attack bore the all-too-familiar, ugly scars of gang-related violence. The alleged perpetrators, two boys aged 15 and 17, were initially unidentified and at large. Then, in a twist as tragic as it is unexpected, they turned themselves in.
The facts speak with a Texas straight talk clarity. These two boys-children by the law – have been hauled off to Juvenile Hall, facing charges as grave as the adult world can muster: murder and attempted murder. ‘Our thoughts are with the family of the student who passed, and with all those impacted by this senseless act of violence,’ intoned the Santa Ana Unified School District, their words a stark reflection of the pain rippling across the community.”
“Let’s pull back the curtain a bit further. In the aftermath, the district has promised an increased presence of Santa Ana School Police on and around Santa Ana High School. But as my father used to say, ‘You can’t unring a bell.’ The question that keeps bouncing around my mind is this…how many more bells will toll before we put an end to such tragedies?”
For the memory of that 14-year-old boy, for the families forever scarred by this act, and for all of us, let’s muster the courage to root out the violence that is stealing the futures of our youth.
