This morning the Seattle Times has a very good story on the victim from Wednesday night’s shooting in Leschi. Although he hasn’t been officially identified, they spoke to friends and family members who stressed his caring nature and the positive effect he had on them:
Curran Lyons, who will be a senior at O’Dea High School, grew up with Sullivan in the Capitol Hill area. He said news of Sullivan’s death comes as a shock since Sullivan was generally popular, and wasn’t known to be violent.
“I’m in disbelief,” he said. “He’s a caring person; it shouldn’t have been him.”
…
“The biggest tragedy here is that Aaron didn’t have an opportunity to fully live in his goodness and greatness,” said Valiere, athletic director at Garfield High School. People who knew Sullivan said they don’t believe the killing was gang-related, and emphasize that Sullivan was not involved in any gang activity.
“He was a really chill, relaxed-type of dude,” said friend Merissa Hale. “He was really into art, graffiti and things like that,” she said.
The victim’s MySpace page lists his school as the American Indian Heritage Middle College, but the Times notes that he had also attended the NOVA school here in the Central District.
I was happy to see the article as it will be the “official version” and will be a comfort to his family;however, it was a whitewash. Aaron, as anyone who has known hime would know, was a troubled young man, well known to be a dealer, although probably not affiliated with gangs. He was also personable and popular. I’m torn about what is right in a situation like this. I think it does a disservice in a way to disquise the truth because it could lead other kids to think things like this “just happen” when they generally don’t. They overwhelming tend to happen to those living life as he did, making one bad choice after another and causing his family years of heartbreak and now one final and irrevocable blow.
i did not even know this kid but i think your comment was highly uncalled for
show some respect
Frankly, I just want to know the whole story as to what happened on Wednesday night. I don’t want to rely on comments from blogs and news articles to pain my picture of events or the individuals involved, but until there is some something more official available there isn’t anything else to go on.
If someone gets shot, much less killed, in my neighborhood, I want to know why it happene and what we can do to prevent similar violence in the future. I don’t want to imply they did, but if the individuals involved had a crimimal history/illegal activities precipitated the shooting, we have a right to know.
Scott, you must be really good at digging through MySpace pages and understanding what they are about. Just looking at this page – full of incoherent rambling, photos of teenagers acting dumb, and poor layout.
Pity about the shooting though. Just like Tyrone who got shot right in front of our place, nobody will ever know what that was all about
Well frankly the kids history isnt your business…show the family some respect, i know a lot of people who knew this kid and he wasnt a bad kid…it just makes you seem nosy. His history shouldnt be a concern since everyone has been stating this was an argument over a girl which I have heard straight from his friends…you want the whole story read what is available to you…the point is the kid did not deserve what happened to him, same with all of the kids killed last year…on a lighter note if anyone has not heard yet the man, Omar Norman, that killed Terrel Milam in Seward Park was sentenced to 52 1/2 years in prison…the maximum sentence
Well frankly the kids history isnt your business…show the family some respect, i know a lot of people who knew this kid and he wasnt a bad kid…it just makes you seem nosy. His history shouldnt be a concern since everyone has been stating this was an argument over a girl which I have heard straight from his friends…you want the whole story read what is available to you…the point is the kid did not deserve what happened to him, same with all of the kids killed last year…on a lighter note if anyone has not heard yet the man, Omar Norman, that killed Terrel Milam in Seward Park was sentenced to 52 1/2 years in prison…the maximum sentence
It has been amazing to me that ALL of the focus has been on what kind of person the kid that got KILLED was. Can anyone tell me about the kid that did the KILLING? I haven’t read one thing about him or his life (I wonder why??) Has he been known to be crazy? Did he BUY drugs? (I really don’t care about this question), but most of all. HOW AND WHY did he have such easy access to a gun or rifle? What type of home did his parents run, with guns laying around at his finger tips. Obvious, he was not that stable. Why try to drag the young man that has lost is life through the mad. Someone tell me something about the shooter. Was he in a gang?
that they’ve found the gun. I hope they do.
since first meeting aaron when he was five years old, i want you all to knowing he was a beautiful kid, and we all expected many great things of him in the future. when his father passed 3 years ago, his life flipped over, but he has still been there for his friends and family, working through the pain and agony of his loss. please let him and his family have their peace.
Thank you for your comment. This young man lost his life and left a grieving family. There is no good reason for someone to be shot point blank in the prime of his life. Those of you who see fit to malign him do not know his family or his circumstances. To speculate and make accusations about him is shameful. Sadder still is the assumption made in the media and society in general that a young, African-American male should automatically be assumed to be gang affiliated and therefore, more expendable. He is gone all too soon and in a violent, unnecessary manner. Let him rest in peace and allow his family the right to grieve. Try grace…it works wonders.
thank you…my point exactly
A lot of you are being very disrespectful.. I was his friend and this was a shock to all of us. Rest in peace.
As I recall, shortly after the incident, a citizen saw two men taking what appeared to be the rifle into a red Mitsubishi Eclipse. The license plates did not match the car, and it was gone by the time police arrived.
That’s the last we heard of it.
Aaron was the kind of kid I was glad to know. He was always respectful to me and everyone else I knew. He stood out to me and wasn’t afraid to be himself. He was part of my community, a neighbor and friend. I lived 2 blocks from him my entire life, and even when he moved out of Capitol Hill, I still saw him around my neighborhood all the time because he loved Capitol Hill and the people in it. He made some unwise choices only recently, but never has anyone I’ve been so close to paid for these choices with their life. It shouldn’t have been him. Losing someone so close to me is a tragedy. It’s not unreasonable to say that something can be learned from this event but also remember Aaron for his great qualities as a person instead of being concerned with the petty drama intended to steer focus elsewhere. A local newspaper article could never sum up who Aaron was or his impact on people: only his friends and family have that right.
why when they r so smile we all say how cute, how precious, only to forget this when they r teenagers we treat them all like criminals. jah love