Oakland mother reeling after two sons shot dead within three weeks
An Oakland mother is mourning the deaths of two of her sons -- both of whom were gunned down within weeks of each other.
On New Year’s Eve, her 13-year-old son, Lee Weathersby, was shot several times while coming home from the Oakland Boys & Girls Club. He was pronounced dead at a hospital the next morning.
Tragedy struck the family again on Sunday, when 19-year-old Lamar Broussard and a passenger in his car were killed in a hail of gunfire from a car that had pulled up next to them. Broussard and the unidentified passenger were pronounced dead at the scene, KTVU-TV reported.
The brothers’ aunt, Del Trina McCoy, said the family is in shock.
“Now we have to deal with something like this,” she said. “It’s a senseless death. Our family has never dealt with death like this.”
Both shootings remain under investigation.
About 100 friends and relatives held a vigil in the wake of Lee’s shooting death, which angered many in a city grappling with gun violence.
Calvester Stanley, president of the Boys & Girls Club of Oakland, told the San Jose Mercury News that staff members called Lee a “great kid” who was well-liked.
Stanley, who has worked with Oakland children for decades, said Lee’s death was “disheartening. Even as young as 13, kids are on the front line and in harm’s way.”
Todd Walker, who works as an outreach coordinator to help get children off the streets, told the paper the city was failing the public.
“It’s just sad that these kids are out here killing each other like this,” Walker said. “There’s nothing going on to try to stop it.”
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