Young Victims of Violence Recalled
- Share via
* Three years ago, after a Friday night football game, a 17-year-old San Clemente youth was speared through the head with a paint roller rod while trying to avoid a confrontation with other teens.
Twenty-nine days later, without regaining consciousness, Steve Woods died.
That same year, 77 other youths fell victim to youth violence in Orange County: the honor student who was beaten and buried alive; the 3-year-old shot while playing in his yard; the new mother also killed in a drive-by shooting; the young boy shot because he refused to give up his skateboard; the young Marine who was beaten and left semiconscious in the path of a freight train; and the girl who was shot in the chest while sitting in a car waiting for her boyfriend.
Will anyone remember these and other young people who have lost their future to senseless violence?
More important, will anyone care?
Referenced victims: Stuart Tay, Steven Martinez, Debbie Gonzales, Christopher Vargas, Jason Smith and Angela Wagner.
PHIL MARTIN
Trabuco Canyon
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
