Vigil Held for 13-Year-Old Boy Gunned Down in Oakland

An emotional gathering was held Thursday to remember a 13-year-old gunned down on New Year's Eve.

Lee Weathersby, who friends and teachers described as a good student and great athlete, was leaving a Boys & Girls Club in East Oakland Tuesday night when he was shot multiple times, police said.

"They shot my baby like a dog," said Dinyal New, the boy's mother, said during the vigil. "And to the people who did this, I hope you suffer."

The teen was shot just before 9:30 p.m. near the intersection of 104th Avenue and Walnut
Street. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead Wednesday morning.

"This needs to stop. We need to bring awareness," said Arthur Renowitzky. "We need to educate the youth."

Renowitzky in a wheelchair because of gun violence -- something Oakland City Councilmember Noel Gallo said continues to be a problem.

"Our children and our grandmothers are paying the price for the lack of leadership at the leadership level and the lack of protection at the street level," Gallo said.

But for some, protection starts in the community.

"That snitch rule, all that snitching. You need to get the definition right," Oakland-resident Tameka Rothschild said. "It's about community. It's about helping."

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