The Writing on the Wall Is a Warning : Attack on Gabriel Gettleson Illustrates the Connection Between Graffiti and Violence

Hopefully, you have not been so bludgeoned by subsequent accounts of heinous crime that you have forgotten the memorable story of Gabriel Gettleson. He’s the Chatsworth High School teen-ager who was waiting outside the school last December when he was shot and critically wounded by a member of a “tagging crew.” The 15-year-old Sylmar boy who shot Gettleson wanted his book bag.

The suspect was convicted of attempted murder last week by a San Fernando Valley juvenile court judge. The incident and the trial that followed present us with a hard fact that must be spread widely and repeatedly among youths who continue to be attracted to the expensive blight of graffiti vandalism. They must be reminded that some of the taggers they wish to emulate are really street terrorists in spray-paint guise. The case is another tool to be used in the effort to persuade youths to avoid this uniquely intrusive and obnoxious form of so-called self-expression. Judge Morton Rochman said as much in his ruling in the Gettleson case.

“The facts in this case should dispel the myth and illusion that taggers are simply mischievous kids or misguided artists,” the judge intoned. “They are, in fact, gang members not reluctant to use violence.”

The attempted murder conviction involved special allegations of great bodily injury and the use of a gun. The youth was also found guilty of aggravated assault and attempted robbery and of two other counts of robbery. One of his tagging buddies was earlier found guilty of driving the getaway car. Another suspect in the case is being tried as an adult as an accomplice to the shooting.

Obviously, not all taggers are so violent, but the judge’s point is well taken in this case. The Gettleson shooting completed a frightening crime spree in which the Sylmar boy and other youths in two cars were searching for rival tagger gangs that day. Having found none, they attacked innocent citizens. They were also suspected of robbing two other victims that December day before shooting Gettleson over his book bag.

Gettleson has recovered. He was shot three times and was hospitalized for nearly three weeks. His family has moved out of the area.

If you know any youths with itchy spray-paint fingers, show them this story. It might shock them into a better awareness of the world they are entering. It just might change their minds.