The Memorial Day murder of an 11 year-old boy in Los Angeles made the television news that day, but it wasn’t until a week later that the tragic news hit home, when it was learned that the victim was a student at David Starr Jordan Middle School.
According to news reports, the boy was stabbed several times by his mother’s boyfriend in the apartment where he lived with his mother, in the Westlake area of Los Angeles. Police were called to the apartment around 9 a.m. on May 27, after neighbors reported hearing the mother’s screams.
The boy was in cardiac arrest when he was transported by paramedics to Childern’s Hospital of Los Angeles. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office identified him as Jai Shaun Lewis.
The boy’s mother apparently tried to stop the attack on her son, and stabbed her 26 year-old boyfriend as he attacked the boy. He was taken to County-USC Medical Center for treatment of his non-life threatening wound. The unidentified man has been arrested in what the Los Angeles Police are calling a case of domestic violence.
Parents of Jordan students received an automated telephone call from Principal Stacey Cashman on Monday, informing them that a student had been killed. Jai was described by some of his peers at Jordan as a popular student. One girl said he was “friends with everybody.” The boy’s father lives in Burbank, which is why Jai was attending Jordan.
Funeral services will be held on June 6, in Los Angeles. No further information has been made available per the family’s request, according to school district officials.
