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| Honor student victim of gunfire |
By Dr. Karanja A. Ajanaku |
Published
06/7/2007
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Honor student victim of gunfire
“I had my shirt over my face the whole time, crying. He was still breathing when I was standing over him. It looked like he was trying to say something. A few minutes later they started putting him in a body bag. They were telling me he was okay.”
| Werner Pacheco
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Wesley Wolfe’s “constant friend” Werner Pacheco, 16, wasn’t okay. He was dead.
Pacheco, a 16-year-old honor student at Treadwell High School, was shot and killed shortly after midnight on June 3. He, Wolfe and another friend, William Alford, had attended a chaperoned party for a group of young people at 3172 Summer.
“Somebody needs to tell the truth about this,” said Treadwell High School teacher Kerrith Griffin. “It was not a nightclub. They rented out the building. It was supervised with no drugs, no nothing. They were honor students trying to have a good time celebrating the end of the school year.”
| Wesley Wolfe
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Two days after the shooting in which three others were injured, Griffin was at the Highland Heights Red Zone/City Builders Center helping some of the young people who knew Pacheco, whose family is from the Honduras, put together a collage of pictures and written recollections of him as part of the healing process.
“This child had never been in any trouble,” said Griffin. “He probably had never been to the office before in his life.”
| William Alford
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Sgt. Vince Higgins said police have “workable information” in the case, including reports that it was gang related. No arrests have been made.
Pacheco, Wolfe and Alford are among the nearly 150 youths who participate weekly in activities offered by an empowerment-focused collaborative that teams the Memphis Leadership Foundation RedZone /Operation Hope Program with The City Builders.
Victoria Noblett, who is with The City Builders, is educational director for the joint operation. She lives in the area and said both groups have worked in the Highland Heights community for several years. Last year Highland Heights Baptist Church made their activity center available to them. The state provides funds to support a tutoring program that focuses on language arts and math.
“We focus on kids, the whole community, intervention. We try to keep kids out of trouble and introduce them to Christ; give them a mind change,” said Kenneth B. Pendleton Sr., program coordinator. “We take them out of town to get them out of the elements, out of the neighborhood. Try to show them something different; something other than the same surroundings.”
Pendleton said the RedZone/City Builders program is about planting seeds that are not likely to sprout right away.
“We meet them where they’re at. It’s about a relationship. I can’t just go in there playing Christian music. That’s not what they listen to. We’ve got to meet them where they are at. That’s our approach. Show them the things they can do and that we’re all human,” said Pendleton.
“They probably look at me a little different. I don’t do some of the things they see other guys doing. But I’m human. I might slip up and curse. I try to get them to understand we are not all perfect.”
For awhile Sunday night, Wolfe said things were going pretty smooth. He and Pacheco were to ride home with one of the people at the party. Outside, two rival groups got into it and the person he was to ride with was trying to calm things down.
“While he was calming one of the gangs down, the other one I guess started shooting in the air. After the first shot, it was like ten seconds later and there were a lot of more gunshots,” said Wolfe.
Everybody started running. He and Pacheco got split up. Moments later, Wolfe started calling his friend’s cell phone. There was no answer.
“I saw a big crowd crowding back around. I walked up and I saw someone laying down. I saw the shoes like he was wearing. I called his phone again and he didn’t answer. I walked up some more and he was just laying down.
“I was like ‘please don’t let nothing happen to him.’ I thought he got shot in the arm. When I got closer I saw that he had blood coming from the head. My mind went blank. I just remember people trying to hold me back. I was telling them let me go.”
William Alford, 17, said it all happened in less than a minute as he and Pacheco were in the parking lot walking toward the car.
“They shot two times in the air. Around here you hear two shots and you don’t think too much. About 10 seconds later they started shooting into the crowd. We were running and got caught in the crossfire. He got hit,” said Alford.
“I was looking for him. He was right behind me. I was calling his name. I saw somebody laying on the ground and I ran up. I saw it was him. We told somebody to call 911. It took them so long. He was still breathing for about 10 minutes. Then he stopped.”
Alford has known Pacheco since about the sixth grade.
“He was a good person. He didn’t do nothing to nobody. He made good grades. He always tried to be everybody’s friend. He ain’t never had anything against anybody. He was just a cool person to be with,” said Alford.
“There is just too much violence. Gangs are tearing the community apart,” said Alford who relies upon the RedZone/City Builders program to help him avoid trouble.
Wolfe said he started coming years ago with his older brothers, who now are 23 and 21. “They really just took me and my brothers in. We have fun up here.”
Wolfe said he loves to travel and sees the trips he takes as part of the program as a much needed break. “In this neighborhood, it’s like trouble can meet you.”
An honor student, Wolfe dreams of going to college in Miami and majoring in business. “My brother is working on a business plan now so we can put our own clothes out.”
Alford and Wolfe said they can’t imagine the neighborhood without the program or life without Pendleton, their mentor.
Pendleton smiles and said he is resolved to keep working in the area, although he now is uncomfortable here at night for the first time.
“It’s time for everybody to get involved,” he said. “It’s time for everybody to step up.”
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Comments
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Comment #1
(Posted by Susan Carson Hill)
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Treadwell HS Alumni Forum. http://treadwellhsalumni.forumotion.com/
Deeply saddened at the loss of this young man's life. May the LORD give his family peace and comfort them.
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Comment #2
(Posted by LaShun Curtis)
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Thank you for posting such a great article. The Commercial Appeal and news stations gave such vague information that made this child sound as if he were involved in gangs. He was a great kid and will be missed by so many.
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Comment #3
(Posted by Jon Sparks)
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Poignant, disturbing, thoughtful, vivid and going far beyond routine reporting. It's mighty good to be reading you again, Karanja.
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Comment #4
(Posted by Spinx05)
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I Live in the UK and knew Werner Pacheco, known as randolph2000 to us, as we all played a world wide game on our PCs called Rune Scape...
Pacheco was a really great guy, and most certainly did not deserve to have this done to him.
All of us that knew him from Rune Scape send our heart felt sympothies to all of his family and friends, he will be missed by all...
From a town called Thetford, Norfolk in the UK
spinx05 and spatty05...
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Comment #5
(Posted by Kairy Lopez)
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I would like to thank you for recognizing my cousin for the person he really was. My cousin was a wonderful person who is dearly missed. I am his first cousin and I truly miss him. He was smart, funny, and a great athlete. I miss him everyday and wish he was here with us. To all who knew my cousin thanks for being great friends to him and for supporting our family. May God bless you all and I hope that people learn for their stupid mistakes!
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Comment #6
(Posted by jacky craig)
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Werner u no i always luv u i no we never talked or played together in years but i luv u so much i no i cant see this unless ur watchin me rite now but i luv u cousin i miss u so much i ddnt even get to say good bye :( i hope wen i passaway i see u n ill hug u
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