Peacemaker slain in Fourth of July shooting: ‘Bravery cost him his own life’

A community activist who previously served as a government aide for a California lawmaker and a university student studying to become a nurse were among the three people killed in two separate shootings in Compton on Saturday.

The shootings, which also injured four people, occurred at two Fourth of July block parties about two miles apart, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Investigators said there was no evidence that the shootings were related.

The first was reported at 11:20 p.m. in the 700 block of West Laurel Street, where five people were shot. A man and young woman were pronounced dead at the scene. A woman, child and man were wounded and taken to hospitals, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

The woman and child suffered non-life-threatening injuries, and the man was listed in critical condition, authorities said.

The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office identified the young woman as 19-year-old Meah Bordenave-Jenkins. Authorities have not identified the second victim who died.

But in a statement Monday, Assemblymember Mike A. Gipson (D-Carson) named the man as Eric Washington, a former staffer.

“I do understand that Eric was attempting to deescalate a conflict during the holiday block party with children and families,” Gipson wrote. “It is no surprise that during the moment of this terrible act, Eric was trying to save a community by preventing a situation that would have taken lives. This bravery cost him his own life.”

Gipson said Washington had worked for him serving his district, which includes Compton. He described Washington as a talented communicator, a community organizer and a caring man who gave his heart and soul for his community.

“I am grieving — devastated by the loss and murder of this great young person. He tried everything possible to save Black and Brown boys in our community, especially against gun violence, and I am dismayed that what he fought against took his life,” Gipson wrote.

He said Washington also served as field deputy for former Los Angeles City Councilmember Joe Buscaino.

In an Instagram post, Buscaino said he was heartbroken to hear about Washington’s death.

“Eric was so much more than a colleague. He was a son, brother, cousin, uncle, nephew, friend, mentor, and peacemaker,” he wrote. “He was a trailblazer and a public servant in the truest sense of the word.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also mourned the loss of Washington, who served in multiple roles at the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles.

“Eric was committed to expanding opportunities for residents of Los Angeles’ public housing communities,” Bass wrote in a statement. “Whether helping families recover from the tragedy in Boyle Heights by connecting them to critical resources or bringing youth from across the city together through HACLA’s World Cup Youth Tournament, he believed every Angeleno deserves to live in a safe community and every young person deserves the opportunity to thrive.”

Gipson said Washington was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, one of the oldest African American fraternities in the U.S., according to its website. He said Washington attended Compton College, the University of North Texas and Grambling State University.

At a morning news conference Monday outside Compton City Hall, the mother of Bordenave-Jenkins said her daughter was a sophomore at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who was studying to become a nurse and was visiting family when the shooting occurred, according to NBC4.

“She was full of life. Very compassionate. Very giving. She would do anything for anybody that asked. It’s devastating she’s no longer amongst us,” Ebone Jenkins said, according to the news station.

Bordenave-Jenkins reportedly had plans to take family members to church on Sunday before visiting Knott’s Berry Farm with a cousin this week.

About 40 minutes after the shooting that killed Bordenave-Jenkins and Washington, a second shooting took place in the 2100 block of North Grandee Avenue. Two Black men were shot. One was pronounced dead at the scene, and the other was taken to a hospital, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

The medical examiner identified the victim who died as 38-year-old Thaddeus Clark of Rialto.

The shootings marked a bloody weekend for Los Angeles County, which saw another shooting Sunday night in East Los Angeles that left four people wounded.

Najee Ali, director of Project Islamic Hope, said that the shootings in Compton were tragedies that could have been prevented and that there were questions about whether the city and the Sheriff’s Department could have done more to keep people safe.

Ali scheduled a “peace gathering to end gun violence” at 6 p.m. Monday outside the Compton Courthouse.