(US MEDIA GROUP) – Tragedy struck the Sacramento community over the weekend when 18-year-old Jeremiah Walker, a student at Grant Union High School, was shot and killed at a house party in Natomas.
According to Mervin Brookins, founder of Brother to Brother Mentoring and Walker’s grandfatherly figure, the young man was known for his kind nature and was preparing to graduate in a few weeks.
Brookins, who considers himself Walker’s grandfather after helping raise him, said he was devastated to hear about his grandson’s death. “There’s no pain like losing a child, losing a loved one,” he said. “Even though I’ve been doing the work and working with mothers that lost children and I was close to it, there’s nothing that compares to it and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Walker was shot and killed at a house on the 3100 block of Buchman Street, and police were unable to confirm the details surrounding the shooting as the investigation is ongoing.
According to Brookins, a parent had rented the home as a short-term rental for a party on Saturday, with no adult supervision. A fight broke out at some point and shots were fired, one of which struck Walker, who was not the intended target.
Brookins said he knew several of the approximately 100 kids at the party and spoke with them about the tragic events. “Jeremiah was not the target. He’s not that type of kid. He wasn’t the type of kid to have confrontations,” he said.
In an effort to bring justice for his grandson, Brookins posted on Facebook on Sunday offering a $10,000 reward for anyone with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for Walker’s death. He hopes that the community will hold each other accountable and work together to prevent similar senseless acts of violence.
Twin Rivers Unified School District, where Walker was a student, released a statement following the tragic news, calling for the entire community to come together to prevent such violence from occurring again.
Brookins is urging anyone with information about the shooting to come forward and speak with the police. “My ask would be that we hold each other accountable. Not only the person that does this, but the community needs to hold itself accountable in what we’re doing to help these youth become better people,” he said.
As friends, family, and the community continue to mourn the loss of 18-year-old Jeremiah Walker, the hope is that his death will serve as a reminder for everyone to come together and work towards a safer and more peaceful community.