VIGIL FOR SLAIN TAFT HIGH PUPIL PUTS FOCUS ON STOPPING VIOLENCE.Byline: Mary Beth Alexander Daily News Staff Writer They gathered Monday night at the corner of Winnetka Avenue and Ventura Boulevard Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east-west thouroughfares in the San Fernando Valley; as it was originally a part of the El Camino Real (the trail between Spanish missions), Ventura Boulevard is the oldest route in the San Fernando Valley. It was also U.S. , to mourn mourn v. mourned, mourn·ing, mourns v.intr. 1. To feel or express grief or sorrow. See Synonyms at grieve. 2. the loss of one teen and remember scores of others who died tragically, the innocent victims of violent crime. About 30 people holding candles, stood silently at the bus stop where Taft High School sophomore Lamoun Thames was slain four years ago. Some knew the boy, and others came for personal reasons. But those who held vigil vigil (vĭj`əl) [Lat.,=watch], in Christian calendars, eve of a feast, a day of penitential preparation. In ancient times worshipers gathered for vespers before a great feast and then waited outside the church until dawn for the liturgy (Mass). seemed to have one purpose - to find a way to stop violence. ``It brings back pain, but we have to support each other,'' said Tarzana resident Ruth Friedman, 62, whose own daughter was stabbed to death in Palm Springs four years ago. ``Each of these kids had value . . . (and) we keep them alive this way.'' The vigil began just outside the high school parking lot, where participants lighted candles, then proceeded across the street to the bus stop where Thames was stabbed in 1992 as he waited for a bus ride home to South Central Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . Among the vigil participants was Thames' sister, Shanise Anderson, 21, of Hawthorne, and his two young twin brothers. Though painful to be at the site of her brother's killing, Anderson said the vigil is inspiring for her. ``It's really special because it shows that even though my brother's gone, people still care that his name lives on,'' Anderson said. The vigil has been held every year since Thames' death. ``I want the killing to stop,'' said organizer Suzanne Lewis, a community activist, who did not know the slain teen but said she holds the vigils Vigils is a term for night prayer in ancient Christianity. See Vespers, Compline, Nocturns, Matins, and Lauds for more information. A Vigil is a night spent in prayer, and a Vigil Mass is a Roman Catholic Mass that is liturgically for a Sunday or Holy Day but which takes place the ``for the family . . . and to continue awareness that we have a problem.'' Lewis said this year's gathering takes on more meaning, because the charge against the teen's accused killer, a 20-year-old man, was dropped by a judge after witnesses who originally connected the man to the slaying could not be located. Lewis said she hoped publicity from the vigil might inspire anyone with information about the crime to come forward. ``So this year it's even more poignant,'' Lewis said. ``We're hoping somebody will come or hear about this and come forward and help.'' Thames was fatally fa·tal·ly adv. 1. So as to cause death; mortally: fatally injured. 2. So as to result in disaster or ruin. 3. According to the decree of fate; inevitably. Adv. 1. stabbed as he waited for a bus near Taft High School in 1992. His family had sent the South Central teen-ager to Woodland Hills for schooling to keep him away from gangs that plague plague, any contagious, malignant, epidemic disease, in particular the bubonic plague and the black plague (or Black Death), both forms of the same infection. the inner city. While being struck by the irony of the slaying, Lewis said she also was affected on a personal level. ``He was a 15-year-old child, and I had a child that age, who went to school with (Thames) and had been at that bus stop several times before,'' Lewis said. ``It could have been my child.'' Lewis has vowed never to let Thames' death be forgotten. Along with the vigils, she also has set up a scholarship in the slain teen's name to help low-income high school seniors pay for college. The $500 scholarships, endowed en·dow tr.v. en·dowed, en·dow·ing, en·dows 1. To provide with property, income, or a source of income. 2. a. by actor Tony Danza Tony Danza (born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza[1] April 21, 1951 in Brooklyn, New York), is an American actor best known for starring in two popular TV series, Taxi and Who's the Boss? , have been awarded since 1995 - the year Thames would have graduated from Taft. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Laneshae Peete, left, and Karen Williams cry Mondayduring the vigil held for Lamoun Thames near Taft High School in Woodland Hills. John Lazar/Special to the Daily News |
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