NORTH HIGHLANDS, Calif. — A North Highlands father and faith leader is offering his services of hope after a 14-year-old was killed in his community.
Abe Daniel, the senior pastor of Trinity Life Center, calls the tragedy heartbreaking, and he plans to join efforts with city leaders and law enforcement to stop this from happening again.
"I have three sons, oldest is 19, twins that are 14. Parents of 14-year-olds are not supposed to be mourning. They're supposed to be enjoying the elements of a day like today and not having this kind of grief, so it breaks our hearts," Daniel said.
Trinity Life Center is just a mile up the road from where a neighbor reported hearing gunshots. The 14-year-old was killed Friday night after a shooting at the 3700 block of Lenore Way. He was found lying in the front yard of a home on Lenore Way. The boy’s name hasn’t been released yet.
"Because of the neighborhood, sadly we've been faced with many opportunities to serve our neighborhood. One of the things that I've worked hard to do is to make sure this becomes a place of hope. Even in the midst of dark days, hope is found in Christ," Daniel said.
With more than 600 members, Daniel says it's their mission to turn things around in a community where there is gang activity and crime.
Before COVID-19, they had partnered with the Sacramento County district attorney and law enforcement to address issues. It has since slowed down, but he says they plan to pick back up where they left off.
Their number one priority now is to assist law enforcement and first responders.
"Offering opportunities for hope to be established with them and resources that we can offer. But also, just on a practical level, reaching out to these families that are in crisis right now - they have no idea what is next - in ways that our church can serve," Daniel said, noting it could be assisting with a funeral or with grief counseling.
As a father and pastor in North Highlands for about 10 years, he knows his community is hurting.
The sheriff's office says it's unclear what led up to the shooting, but they're actively looking for the shooter.
We reached out to them Sunday afternoon for an update but we're still waiting to hear back from them, and we'll bring you the latest when we hear back.
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