Teen killed after MySpace gang boast
Jamiel Shaw’s gang association made him a target for murder:
I received an e-mail today from a reader by the name of Michael. He asked me why I haven’t posted about the murder of Jamiel Shaw. To be honest when I received Michael’s e-mail it was the first I had heard of it.
17-year-old Shaw was an athlete at his Los Angeles high school and was allegedly not in any gang. However he inferred on his MySpace that he had some affiliation with the infamous Bloods gang. Apparently that didn’t sit well with 19 year old Pedro Espinoza. Espinoza is a member of 18th Street which has been at war with the Bloods for 12 years. Espinoza gunned down Shaw on March 2nd just because of his alleged gang affiliation.
I don’t know what Michael was trying to accomplish by sending me the tip which I am grateful for. I don’t know if he wanted me to comment on the surrounding controversy that this was a race related hate crime. I don’t know if he wanted me to post about the senselessness of gang violence that still permeates our country.
The only thing I can really say is to make another plea to parents to keep your eye on your kids’ internet behavior. This is not an indictment on anyone but please parents educate yourself on not just MySpace but the internet in general to keep your kids safe.
5 opinions for Teen killed after MySpace gang boast
Mr. Reality
Jun 1, 2008 at 3:49 pm
I saw his myspace page, but I doubt that it was the gang talk on his myspace page that got him killed. He was killed because he was gang bangin at school in front of many people always throwing gang signs and saying “Blood” to people. Just ask anyone on his football team. It is sad, but we need to tell young people that gang bangin’ can get you killed. RIP Jamiel Shaw AKA Deuce Wild.
MST
Jun 2, 2008 at 3:54 am
Don’t be so sure that the gang talk on his page didn’t get him killed. As MyCrimeSpace has made clear, gang members are online and would pay attention to someone claiming to be from a rival gang. I think the message here is that parents should be aware of their kids’ MySpace activity, as Trench said, and should realize that nobody knows the difference between a wanna-be like Shaw and an actual gang member online. When Espinoza saw Shaw’s MySpace page, he had no way of knowing that Shaw was merely a wanna-be rather than an actual Blood, which caused him to get killed.
Hallel
Jun 2, 2008 at 7:58 am
Gang member or not, Jamiel Shaw was an AMERICAN! An American killed by an invader. God have mercy on that invader, because I ever get my chance, I sure won’t!
ot
Jun 30, 2008 at 7:55 pm
what are the odds that during the 24 hours between killing jamiel and being released from jail that pedro espinoza went online, logged into myspace and happened to choose this guy of all the gang members on myspace, tracked him down to a specific location at a certain time and blew his brains out? come on people get real!!!!
Mindy
Aug 17, 2008 at 9:08 am
The site is an ugly, vile, nasty pit–not to mention an aesthetic assault on every one of the senses. Reams of banal “have a great weekend!” graphics and those accursed glittery blinkies are merely window dressing for the badly written, simpleminded pablum it decorates. The big mystery to me is the number of adults with MS pages. I can see its appeal to children. *shaking head* I wish the server would blow up permanently.
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