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Feb. 26, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

'JUST A FIGHT, EXCEPT SOMEBODY HAD A GUN': TEEN SHOT NEAR MIDDLE SCHOOL

Police seek gunman who wounded Western High sophomore

By ANTONIO PLANAS, LYNNETTE CURTIS and LISA KIM BACH
REVIEW-JOURNAL
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Las Vegas police work a scene near Gibson Middle School where a 16-year-old Western High School student was shot Monday.
Photo by Clint Karlsen



Click image for enlargement.
Graphic by Mike Johnson.

As he waited for his friend to get out of surgery at University Medical Center on Monday night, 15-year-old Hector Gonzalez tried to describe the shooting, the third outside a Clark County school in 11 days, that had sent his friend to the hospital.

"It was just a fight, except somebody had a gun," Gonzalez said.

Police spent the evening looking for the triggerman who shot a 16-year-old Western High School student only a few blocks from Gibson Middle School.

Gonzalez, a sophomore at Western, identified the victim as Victor Bravo, a fellow sophomore. Bravo's younger brother, Eduardo, 15, also was waiting outside the hospital for word on how the teen was doing.

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    • Eduardo, who attends nearby Gibson Middle School, said at UMC that his brother was wounded in the arm and lower back. Bravo was listed in serious condition Monday night.

    Las Vegas police said the shooting occurred only 11 minutes after classes at Gibson let out for the day. Witnesses at the scene said there were about 30 to 40 students walking near the intersection of Washington Avenue and Chabot Drive, a middle-class neighborhood dominated by ranch-style homes, when the shooting occurred.

    Shortly before 7 p.m., Deputy Chief Gary Schofield said police had not made an arrest in the shooting and didn't have any suspects. Schofield said police were getting various descriptions of a suspect by witnesses. Schofield added he did not know whether the shooting was gang related.

    Gonzalez said he was walking with Bravo and a third boy near Washington and Chabot when a group of teenagers who he believed were also students at Western jumped out of a car.

    A "huge fight" ensued, Gonzalez said.

    "People were coming out of nowhere. It was a jumble of people."

    Gonzalez said he was running away when he heard "about five shots."

    "Then I heard Victor say, 'I've been shot,' so I went back."

    Another witness gave a similar account.

    "I saw about 10 to 15 children whooping one boy's ass," said a man who gave his name as J. Hue, who was driving by the scene of the shooting. "I thought about getting out, but then I heard the gunshots. Three to five shots."

    Hue, who is black, said the group of kids beating up the victim were black. He added that he heard the gunshots come from a vehicle with two people in it. He said the vehicle was a pickup.

    Gonzalez said he believed the shooting was sparked by another fight "a couple of days ago" at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant. Monday's fight and shooting probably were in retaliation for the earlier incident, he said.

    However, Gonzalez said he and Victor Bravo had not been involved in the earlier fight. He also said the incident wasn't gang-related, and that he and Bravo aren't members of any gang. Eduardo Bravo also said his brother was not in a gang.

    The incident that took place near Gibson is the third time in 11 days that the area around a public school has been used as a shooting gallery.

    On Feb. 15, Palo Verde High School student Christopher Privett was gunned down in a drive-by while walking home from campus. Palo Verde student Gerald Q. Davison, 16, and Ezekiel Williams, 18, now face murder charges in the case.

    That was followed by a shooting Thursday just half a block from Bonanza High School. The incident sent a crowd of students on their way home from school running for cover. A man age 19 or 20 was wounded after an altercation between him and his assailant escalated, police said.

    The victim has not yet been identified, and the assailant has not been caught.

    None of the incidents is related, but the increasing frequency of the shootings around schools has mobilized the leadership of area law enforcement and the Clark County School District. Shortly after the shooting near Gibson, Superintendent Walt Rulffes was on his way to an emergency meeting called by Las Vegas police. Police officials from North Las Vegas and Henderson also were present.

    "I think it's a terribly sad comment on our society that we have young people trying to resolve their differences with weapons," Rulffes said.

    But because that seems to be happening, law enforcement and the district will work together to combat that trend. Rulffes said police have pledged to increase their patrols around schools. School police also will be sharing information with other law enforcement agencies regarding campus violence that could mushroom into something worse.

    Joyce Haldeman, Associate Superintendent of Community and Government Relations, said those at the meeting also agreed parent outreach efforts are needed. Parents need to start a conversation with their children about guns, about violence and about how to deal with confrontations nonviolently. It's a project Haldeman said the district is more than willing to pursue with the police.

    "We're all working together on this because these are all our kids," Haldeman said.

    School Board Member Carolyn Edwards said it's important for everyone to realize what's going on is a community-wide problem. Kids have access to guns: That needs to be stopped, Edwards said. Confrontations between students have become lethal: They need to be taught a better way resolve their differences.

    "The bigger question is why is this going on at all," Edwards said. "Why is it that children feel it's necessary to go to this level to settle a difference or make a point?"

    Schofield said the area Monday's shooting sees heavy foot traffic from students in the afternoon as schools let out.

    "If you go to Western High School or Gibson over here, there's a lot of children moving through, and there's also an elementary school around the corner. So on any given day ... there's hundreds of kids moving around, and the fight did occur within the midst of all those children moving."

    One parent standing near the school was nervously waiting for her daughter to be released by police as a witness.

    Esperanza Serrano, who has a 13-year-old daughter who attends Gibson, said in Spanish that violence near schools is getting overwhelming. Her daughter, Maria Garcia, is picked up for a ride every day except for Mondays.

    Serrano said that will change.

    "She only walks home one day a week, and look what happens."

    Review-Journal writer Scott Spjut contributed to this report. Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-4638.



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    Ty wrote on February 26, 2008 11:28 PM: All of these school shootings and no one has said anything about the "Worlds Largest Shooting Park" currently being built RIGHT NEXT TO Shadow Ridge High School? Now I'm pro-gun, but does anyone see the irony in this? (note... at least 500 cars per day will drive in front of the school, many of them fully armed)


    Rod wrote on February 26, 2008 10:57 PM: "I think it's a terribly sad comment on our society that we have young people trying to resolve their differences with weapons," Rulffes said.

    Well Mr aren't WE the Americans in a middle of a war to protect our freedom and/ or interests in the middle east?...We are not exactly just talking to our enemies right?...Oh maybe this reflects in our society, specially these kids at school !!!
    What about all those recorts imposed to the school district bacause of the war and the economy; how about using some money to install weapons detectors at schools, nationally, we done so to airports so why not to schools??
    The violence on the streets is a reflection of the violence our country is exporting to the world !!!
    Our politicians need to go back to those very schools and learn how to read again , then read the US. Constitution, and respect.; maybe then our kids will start learning respect !!!


    chris t wrote on February 26, 2008 09:46 PM: another incident with BLACK's shooting other races. hmm... just remember blacks are incapable of commiting HATE CRIMES.


    John in Montana wrote on February 26, 2008 08:54 PM: This pretty much says it all. Congratulations to the writer for the insight and ability to string coherent words together that describes the situation:
    Julia wrote on February 26, 2008 09:53 AM:
    Three shootings by black youths near schools in 11 days? Hey, what better way to celebrate Black History Month than by showing your fellow citizens that black culture stands for nothing more than racism, violence, drugs, disrespect for women, materialism, lawlessness, anti-intellectualism and the utter disregard for all norms of civility.

    You hit the nail on the head. This is the true black contribution: degeneration to the lowest level of human life.


    jackson wrote on February 26, 2008 06:45 PM: You guys will like this one, I was speaking to a parent last week about a child's behavior problems, and his "wannabe" gangsta outfits, signs, language (this kid is in 5th grade). The kid has a PlayStation with every violent game you can imagine, and brings inappropriate things to school. The parent's response?
    "Well, what is wrong with his clothes, language, and Playstation?".
    (The kid calls all girls and women "bitches".)

    Why did we even bother with a meeting? This kid will no doubt be in the paper in a few years.


    Geez wrote on February 26, 2008 06:25 PM: Soccertease: There is no such word as "conversate." It is the ghetto version of converse.


    SoccerTease wrote on February 26, 2008 05:57 PM: Racism is an issue here. However having at least the slightest degree of a debate about it, is sorely distorted by some of the belligerent racist comments here.
    If you just hate black people, Im sure there are plenty of sites to go to in order to "jackjaw yo stuff".
    If you could possibly contribute to an intelligent conversation, leave the bs and conversate. Watermellons? come on, ya got to have something a little bit better than that.
    This is a huge problem that needs some major effort on all parts, those who are too indifferent to see this as an issue between blacks and whites, and those of you who just want to hate black people.
    Cant we all just get along? (Real popular criminal)


    joe wrote on February 26, 2008 04:48 PM: Mandatory across the board sterilization of all children once they reach 12 years of age. When they turn 18 they can take a series of tests to determine if they're fit to be a responsible, capable and mature parent and have the procedure reversed. If not they can go on having sex without contributing to the deterioration of the society. It's either that or hope parents get off their lazy butts and do their job.


    jordan wrote on February 26, 2008 04:39 PM: Truama Life in the Er repeatedly runs an episode featuring UMC...for the entire hour of the show it dealt with gunshots and drive bys...i sat in horror to think this is how the rest of the country sees our city...we moved here in 1982 & have witnessed what a nightmare this city has evolved into in the past 18 yrs...its so sad ... if this keeps up vegas will soon have the publciity and lack of tourism that mexico/tijuana now is credited for...robbing and murdering there tourists...ah maybe then oscar will peek his pickled nose out....


    Paris wrote on February 26, 2008 04:29 PM: See you all down at PURE!

    That's Hot!

    Love Paris Hilton


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