Boy Said He Wanted to Shoot Someone, Two Friends Say

Minutes before he allegedly shot his mother in the forehead, a 14-year-old boy coolly told neighborhood friends in Glendale that he was looking for somebody to gun down, his friends said Saturday.

He then left his two friends for about 10 minutes, came back and told them he had just killed his mother at the family’s condominium on quiet, tree-lined Sinclair Avenue, the friends said.

The boy was known for talking tough and rapping about gang violence, but he was never taken seriously until after he claimed that he had shot his mother, his friends said in interviews Saturday.

Glendale police confirmed that one of the youths had given them the same chilling account of the minutes right before and after the shooting.

“He said, ‘I already did it,’ ” said a 16-year-old neighbor. “He said he’s only a minor so nothing would happen to him.”

Before the shooting, the boy, who is not being identified because of his age, had asked the 16-year-old to accompany him to his family’s condominium, but the friend declined.

“I started laughing,” the friend said. “I didn’t think he was serious.”

Shortly after 4:30 p.m. Friday, police found the boy’s mother, Tinann Turner Davidson, 52, slumped over the dinner table at the family condominium with one gunshot wound to her head. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The suspect, who police said was smiling and smirking when he was taken into custody at a phone booth outside Glendale High School, dialed 911 minutes after allegedly shooting his mother and confessed to officers, authorities said.

Police said a dispatcher on the telephone told the suspect to put his hands in the air and kneel down. The boy, who did as the dispatcher advised, was put in a patrol car without incident and taken for questioning before being arrested on suspicion of murder, police said.

Witnesses told police the boy left the condominium complex after the shooting, carrying a handgun and yelling.

Officers later recovered a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver in the bushes in front of the complex.

The boy, who eventually was taken to Eastlake Juvenile Detention Center, is expected to be arraigned Monday, authorities said.

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Investigators said a motive for the shooting remained unknown Saturday. The suspect has no known record of gang activity or substance abuse and the family has no record of being troublesome, investigators said.

“Absolutely no record,” said Officer Art Frank, an investigator on the case. “He comes from a fine family.”

Friends, neighbors and relatives were stunned.

A man neighbors identified as the suspect’s father arrived at the complex Saturday and approached one of the teenagers outside.

“What happened yesterday?” the man said somberly before noticing a reporter and walking away without getting an answer.

Several neighbors said the suspect’s parents seemed like nicepeople. The boy’s mother was a former president of the condominium complex association and remained active with the group.

The suspect was described by many neighbors as a quiet boy who politely greeted whoever he saw, and certainly not a troublemaker. The boy had been spending time with relatives in North Carolina until about a month ago, they said.

“They seemed like a regular family,” said Nelly Diaz, who lives nearby. “You never heard anything in their house.” On Sundays, she said, she saw the boy’s parents on their way to church.

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Frank said the teenage friend’s statements about what happened Friday were consistent with what he told police when he was questioned as a witness.

The youth and Carolina Calvo, a 19-year-old friend who said she also witnessed the moments right before and after the shooting, recalled that about 4 p.m. Friday, the suspect came to the youth’s apartment and claimed he felt like shooting somebody--it didn’t matter who.

“He was normal, like he is every day,” the 16-year-old friend said. “I told him, ‘Man, you’re all talk.’ I said, ‘No, it’s too hot. We’ll do it tomorrow.’ I didn’t know he was going to do it.”

The youth said the suspect left alone and came back about 10 minutes later.

“He pulls out the gun. He was telling me to come outside,” the youth said. “He was walking out and I thought he was going to shoot his mom but he had already done it.”

The 16-year-old said he took the revolver, emptied out the bullets and saw that one had been fired. Nervous, he gave the gun and bullets back to the suspect and told him to leave.

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The friend said he saw the suspect throw the gun and bullets in the bushes and walk away. The friend then threw the gun farther away into some nearby bushes.

The last time he saw the suspect was when he was inside the police cruiser. The entire episode has been unbelievable, the youth said.

“It was always talk,” the youth said. “I never really believed him.”

The friends, who described Davidson as “sweet” and “nice,” could only guess about what might have led to the shooting.

“I have no idea. That’s why I was tripping out,” said Javier Rodriguez, 20. “You’ve got to be insane to think about something like that.”

Added Calvo: “I guess he had a lot of anger in him.”

Times staff writer Jose Cardenas contributed to this report.