Mother of shot Sacramento teenager shares message

LOOKING FOR ANSWERS. WE JUST STAND OUT THERE AND TALK. MY SON COMES AROUND THE CORNER AND I DON’T KNOW MY SON WOULD NEVER COME BACK. BRITTANY JACKSON IS A MOTHER OF FIVE BOYS. HER OLDEST SON, 17-YEAR-OLD ELIJAH WALLACE, JUNIOR, WAS SHOT AND KILLED ON JUNE 15, 11 PEOPLE, ONE PERSON I LOVED, HIS BROTHERS, LOVED HIS MOTHER, LOVED HIS FATHER, LOVED HIS FAMILY. UM, MY FIVE-YEAR-OLD, HE’S JUST LIKE HIS BEST FRIEND, JACKSON SAYS SHE STILL DOESN’T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED THE DAY HER SON DIED. HE WALKED AROUND THE CORNER TO HIS FRIEND’S HOUSE, AND HIS FRIEND DRIVES HIM THERE ONE TIME. HE DRIVES HIM WHEREEVER HE GOES. I DON’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THAT. ALL I KNOW IS THAT I WAS STANDING IN MY KITCHEN AND I HEAR BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM. IT WAS JACKSON’S 11-YEAR-OLD SON WHO FINALLY TOLD HER ELIJAH WAS DEAD. SO IT’S MY JOB TO GET IT OUT AND SHOW THEM WHAT KIND OF PERSON MY SON REALLY WAS. WHETHER, UM, Y’ALL, WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY? ELIJAH IS PREPARING FOR HIS LAST YEAR OF SCHOOL AT RANCHO CORDOVA HIGH SCHOOL. ELIJAH STARTED PLAYING FOOTBALL AT SIX YEARS OLD. MY GOAL WHILE HAVING FIVE BOYS WAS TO KEEP THEM EMPLOYED, TO KEEP THEM OUT OF TROUBLE, SO THEY COULD FOCUS ON WHAT THEY WANTED AND WHAT THEY WANTED TO DO WITH THEIR LIVES. BUT JACKSON SAYS SHE KNOWS THAT ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH. HE IS AWARE I DON’T TALK TO HIS PARENTS. HIS FRIENDS, PARENTS. WHEN YOU SEE MY SON, DO YOU SEE SOMETHING DIFFERENT? WHAT IS HE DOING AT YOUR HOME? DO YOU KNOW? ARE THERE DRUGS, GUNS, SOMETHING YOU SEE THAT YOU WANT TO TELL ME ABOUT? I DIDN’T DO IT BECAUSE I FELT I HAD NOTHING. NO, I DIDN’T NEED TO BECAUSE OF THE KIND OF CHILD I HAD. BUT THE REASON HE’S STILL A CHILD AND I SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING ALL OF THIS. AND A PARENT CAN’T HANDLE IT ALONE. THERE HAVE TO BE DIFFERENT MENTORS AND PEOPLE WHO COME TOGETHER AND NOT JUST TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY’RE GOING TO DO, BUT ACTUALLY DO IT AND GET EVERYONE TOGETHER

Sacramento mother shares message with other parents after her 17-year-old was shot

Updated: June 28, 2024, 9:54 p.m. PDT

It has been nearly two weeks since 17-year-old Elijah Wallace Jr. was shot and killed on Marin Avenue near 77th Street in Sacramento. His mother, Brittney Jackson, said when Elijah left the house the day he died, she never imagined it would be the last time she would see her son. Sacramento police said Wednesday that detectives are still investigating the shooting and are working to identify suspects and a motive. Jackson said as she continues to search for answers, she wants people to know who her son really was. “A loving person, a person who loved his brothers, loved his mother, loved his father, loved his family. My 5-year-old, that was like his best friend. Elijah started playing football when he was 6. “My goal the whole time I had five boys was to always keep them busy so they couldn’t cause trouble and focus on what they wanted and what they wanted to do with their lives,” Jackson said. When she reflects on her son’s life, Jackson says she feels like she could have done more, and that’s the message she wants to share with other parents. “He’s aware that I don’t talk to his friends’ parents about, ‘when you see my son, do you notice anything? What is he doing at your house? Are there drugs, guns, anything you see that you might want to tell me about?’ I didn’t do that because I felt like I didn’t need to because of the type of kid I had. But the reality is he’s just a kid and I should have done all of this,” Jackson said. She said she wants to see more adults taking responsibility for their children and others stepping in when they see a problem. “There needs to be different mentors here and people need to come together and not just talk about what they’re going to do, but actually do it and bring everyone together,” Jackson said. Find more coverage of California’s top news here | Download our app.

SACRAMENTO, California —

It has been nearly two weeks since 17-year-old Elijah Wallace Jr. was shot and killed on Marin Avenue near 77th Street in Sacramento.

His mother, Brittney Jackson, said when Elijah left the house the day he died, she never imagined it would be the last time she would see her son.

Sacramento police said Wednesday that detectives are still investigating the shooting and are working to identify suspects and a motive.

Jackson said she continues to search for answers and wants people to know who her son really was.

“A loving person, a person who loved his brothers, loved his mother, loved his father, loved his family. My 5-year-old was like his best friend. Elijah started playing football when he was 6. My goal while I had five boys was to keep them busy, to keep them out of trouble, to keep them focused on what they wanted and what they wanted to do with their lives,” Jackson said.

Reflecting on her son’s life, Jackson said she felt she could have done more and that was the message she wanted to convey to other parents.

“He knows I don’t talk to his friends’ parents about, ‘when you see my son, do you notice anything? What is he doing in your house? Are there drugs, guns, anything you see that you want to tell me about?’ I didn’t do that because I felt like I didn’t have to because of the type of kid I had. But the reality is he’s just a kid and I should have done all of that,” Jackson said.

She said she wants to see more adults taking responsibility for their children and others intervening when they recognize a problem.

“There needs to be different mentors here, and people need to come together and not just talk about what they’re going to do, but actually do it and bring everyone together,” Jackson said.

You can find more reports on the most important topics from California here | Download our app.