SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — After an arrest was made in the killing of two teenage brothers at the Arden Fair Mall, the parents of Dewayne James Junior and Saquan Reed spoke out for the first time.
Their father, Dewayne Reed, Sr., said he moved his family to Sacramento from Louisiana around a year ago with hopes of a better life. But a day after Thanksgiving, two of his children were shot and killed while four of the brothers were Black Friday shopping, he said.
Police said the shooting was the result of a verbal argument between two groups of people. On Monday, police arrested 18-year-old Damario Beck and charged him for the homicides.
While police said they believe the two groups knew each other, Dewayne Reed, Sr. said that, to his knowledge, they didn't.
"I lost my boys. They [were] good boys," Dewayne Reed, Sr. said. "I brought them a long way. We come from Louisiana. We been here a year [and I] took my kids out of that type of environment to bring them here to something bigger and better."
Yet, the Reed family doesn't want vengeance. During their Monday press conference, they referred to the family of the teen charged with the murders, saying they were grieving for the Beck family too as their son is now lost to "the system."
But they also hope the deaths of their two boys will result in change, specifically in gun violence.
"If it takes for my kids to go sit with the Lord to bring light to this situation across the country, so be it," Dewayne, Sr. said. "I'm good with it because two lives could save a thousand lives."
So far in 2020, there have been around 40 homicides in Sacramento. It's on track to outpace the last drastic uptick of violence that took place in 2015, which saw 43 homicides in the city of Sacramento.
But the Reed brothers' deaths aren't the only teen homicides so far in 2020. Zarrie Allen, 18, was shot and killed in July during a drive-by shooting.
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It's a concern growing among local teens and young adults.
"I've seen people shot at. I've seen people die. I've seen it all," said 22-year-old Trayzell White.
That's why they hope the community will step up. It is one of the reasons White works with Impact Sac, an organization that focuses on empowering teens and young people to find both their voices and passions instead of violence. But these teens also want the community as a whole to step up, especially in the wake of the Reed brothers' deaths.
"How are we going to save the lives of more teens?" 17-year-old Safiya Munif asked. "We can talk about it all day long, but what I want to see is action taken from it."
As for the Reed family, they're asking for privacy during this time of grievance, especially as the mother is three-months pregnant. They're planning on bringing the brothers and family back to Louisiana to lay them to rest and are asking for those wanting to contribute to help pay for travel costs through their GoFundMe account.
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