The mother of a 13-year-old boy killed by a DC city employee last month has broken her silence following her son’s death.
Addressing the public for the first time since her son Karon Blake was killed, London Blake demanded on Wednesday that Department of Parks and Recreation employee Jason Lewis be “convicted to the highest.”
Her remarks came just a day after DC Metropolitan Police announced that Lewis, 41, was charged with second-degree murder in connection to Karon’s killing. Mr Lewis has maintained his innocence, saying he was acting in self-defence after he woke up in the early morning hours of 7 January to find a group of teens breaking into cars in his neighbour, his attorney told NBC.
Authorities have said that although Mr Lewis’s allegations seem to be corroborated by surveillance video from the incident, there was no altercation between Karon and Mr Lewis before the latter opened fire, first striking a vehicle and then fatally wounding Karon.
“He took my baby, my first-born, and it’s really messed up but I have to live with that,” Ms Blake told reporters, per CBS affiliate WUSA. “I really hope that I get justice for my child and I hope that this man is convicted.”
The grieving mother said that Karon was “the man of the house” and helped her with her three other children. Ms Blake’s attorney said that she believed Karon was in his bedroom sleeping when the incident took place around 4am on the day of the shooting.
“Karon came from a good home and I tried my best with him, you know? But Jason Lewis had no right. He had no right,” Ms Blake said. “Some children grow up too fast. Some of them do things that they’re not supposed to do and some of us parents are not aware of what they do.”
She added: “Would y’all feel better if it was at 4pm? A crime is a crime.”
The mother said she was left devastated when she learned her son’s last words were “I’m sorry,” “I’m a kid” and “I’m only 12.” According to WUSA, her attorney was told by police that Karon suffered at least two gunfire injuries.
Mr Lewis fired the shots after he “heard noises and observed someone that appeared to be tampering with vehicles,” according to a police report. He reportedly gave CPR to the minor before he was taken to a hospital where he died from his injuries.
DC police chief Robert Contee Contee said his department, in consultation with the US Attorney’s Office, had gathered enough information to apply for an arrest warrant that was ultimately signed earlier this week.
As part of the investigation, police collected video evidence from the scene and interviewed witnesses.
“I think the biggest grievance is that the first shot that was fired was actually fired at someone who was sitting in a vehicle who was not an immediate threat to the person who fired the shot,” Mr Contee said on Tuesday.
Mr Contee also challenged claims that authorities had taken “too long” to charge Mr Lewis, saying officials were comfortable with the timeline of the criminal probe and wanted to examine the evidence thoroughly before moving the case through the court system.
DC police had previously refused to release the name of the shooter, simply saying he was a city employee and had been placed on leave from his $75,000-a-year-job following the shooting. The measure prompted outrage and calls by the community to hold Karon’s killer accountable.
Some had taken it upon themselves to track down the identity of the man behind his death, with online sleuths mistakenly doxxing neighbours of the man, police had previously said.
“We wanted to be methodical, we wanted to be correct and not make any assumptions,” Mr Contee said. “We wanted to follow the evidence. There was somewhat of a self-defence claim that could have been made, Mr Lewis in this case is a licensed concealed carrier and was on his property when the shooting happened.”
Mr Lewis’s firearms were seized after the arrest, Mr Contee said. Meanwhile, his attorney Lee Smith told The Washington Post that his client “had dedicated his career to mentoring and supporting youth in the District of Columbia, which only adds to how distraught he is over the death of Karon Blake.”
Mr Lee said his client maintained his innocence and “no crime was committed.”
The police chief said that surveillance video was crucial in obtaining the arrest warrant. The US Attorney’s Office will decide whether the video, which reportedly also confirms Mr Lewis’ claims that the teen was breaking into cars, will be released.
