By Doug Krikorian
Press-Telegram Sports Columnist
It has become our own form of Middle East-style terrorism, with addle-brained gunmen causing the havoc instead of addle-brained suicide bombers.
We in Southern California have become inured to it, read and hear about it all the time, shake our heads in bewilderment about the senselessness of it.
But what made the shooting that occurred midway through Friday evening in Long Beach that took the life of a popular 16-year-old Wilson High honor student named Melody Ross so tragically different was that it didn't take place in some darkened alley in the early morning hours, or at some crowded party at a rented hall, or at some dangerous street where gang members congregate.
This happened where Melody Ross went to school, where she excelled in the classroom, where she was a popular among classmates, where she was a pole vaulter on the track team, where she was doing nothing more innocuous on the final day of her life than attending a football game between her school and Poly High.
Could there be a safer place to be on a Friday night?
A high school football game, a hallowed autumn custom throughout America, a sporting cultural heritage in which the violence is supposed to be on the gridiron between the combatants and not involve any of those witnessing the action.
What makes this deadly incident even more frightening is that it forever has stripped away the blithe innocence that always has been endemic to such an event.
What parents can now feel secure about the safety of their children at such an event?
What high school students now won't harbor inner fears at such an event?
Is there nothing sacred left in this turbulent world of ours where every day there are countless innocent people killed and maimed for no logical reason in uncivilized places like Afghanistan and Iraq and Sudan and civilized places like the United States of America.
"A shooting at my alma mater?" says Harry Minor, the legendary New York Mets scout who graduated from Wilson High in 1946. "It's absolutely devastating. It's beyond belief. Never had anything close to this happening when I went to Wilson. How can this happen?"
Oh yes, how can this happen?
How can a young daughter of parents who escaped the murderous Khmer Rouge regime of Pol Pot wind up fatally shot in the supposedly safe haven of this country?
And on the campus of Wilson High, not exactly a killing field, where future Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Lemon first flashed his baseball skills, where Bobby Grich and Bob Bailey and Jeff Burroughs and Sean Burroughs and so many other extraordinary ball players did the same, where Skip Rowland excelled in all sports as he would do later at UCLA.
Oh, I know the reflex refrain -- "it's a sign of the times" -- and I suppose that's a tidy way to encapsulate this awful sociological phenomenon that has devastated inner cities in recent years.
But what plausible explanation can one offer for what happened to Melody Ross?
What are the circumstances that would lead a human being to commit the kind of cruel mayhem that erupted after the Wilson-Poly game?
Does the person who killed Melody Ross and also wounded two men not understand the awful repercussions of his awful judgment to shoot into a crowd? Does he realize the inconsolable grief he has caused so many people? Is he bereft of a conscience? Does he feel any remorse?
It's all beyond my comprehension since I've spent a lifetime attending sporting games without once being concerned about my safety, without once even entertaining the dark thought that anything bad could happen at such a harmless stage.
But no more.
"It's very shocking and, obviously, I'm very surprised it happened," says Skip Rowland, who coached at Wilson for 35 years and is a 1945 graduate. "But this is the way the world is now. Something like this can happen any place and at any time. Look what happened at Columbine where a couple of armed students killed 13 people. It's hard to believe it happened here in Long Beach."
I drove by the poignant memorial of flowers and balloons and missives that has been set up to honor Melody Ross in the area on Ximeno near 10th Street where she was struck down.
It's an area where kids can be found before and after school, milling around, laughing, savoring the thrill of youth and its endless tomorrows of hopes and dreams.
I'm sure there were a lot of kids in the area Friday night after the game enjoying the gladness of the moment when it suddenly was shattered by the chilling sounds of gun shots and the blaring sirens of police cars and ambulances and the shrieking gasps of bystanders in a ghastly tableau of homicidal cruelty that's become too routine in these mean times.
Doug Krikorian can be reached at doug.krikorian@presstelegram.com
My son is a Wilson HS student. He was at the Homecoming game. He came home alive. I wish we could all say the same for Melody Ross. My son, or any other student at that game could have been the one who didn't make it home that night.
I did not know Melody or her family, but I will never forget her. Long Beach will never forget her.
doug,
Pray for Melody,she's now in a better and more Peaceful place.
It makes us think of the glory days. The "Game" where every student finally had a common bond at least for one night.
There are five boys in our family all of us attended Poly and played in this game from 1959 to 1971.
So as the kids would say today I'm an "original G".
Yes that makes me a "Homie" from Poly but does that say all of the kids from Poly are at fault for this tragedy?
Could a student from Wilson be at fault?
Stop the blame game and fix the problem.
Call city hall,ask your councilperson "Is there a
a gang injunction?
Your comment about terrorism is the perfect reason for a Guantanamo type of correction facility for these killers!
I agree with gdaddy. I too grieve with Melody's family. I was at the game on Friday also and had to drive down Ximeno to get home so I crossed this intersection probably 10 minutes before the shooting. I really resent the many people who have written in the different blogs about "those" bad people from Poly. We have no idea who shot this poor girl. It could have been someone from anyplace and that includes Wilson. There is no place in this or any city that is immune to violence. People need to quit trying to blame everything that happens bad on "them" from the ghetto. There are shady people every where. God bless Melody and may she rest in peace. I have two children the youngest just graduated from Poly in June. And Doug, I'm not afraid to attend any Friday or any other night football games. I attended high school in South Central Los Angeles (Dorsey) so I have seen everything.
First, my sincere condolences to the family and friends of Melody Ross. What a tragic loss.
But I must ask, if Melody was a Poly or Jordan student, would there be the same type of outcry?
Long Beach is not a safe city. It is time for police to take more proactive steps with youths and gangs to prevent these types of senseless murders from happening in the future.
Every day it seems like there is a story in the Press-Telegram about a shooting. It's tragic.
Doug,
great story however i think parents need to be intune with their children,talk to them steer them away from the evils of life. Everything starts in the home, if you allow your child to be disrespectful and run the streets he will turn out to be a thug like the ones that took Melody's life. Who in their right mind would want to be an original "G" I would be ashamed to call myself that. As a neighbor of yours on the east side of long beach "Monlaco Road" I have watched my two children grow up, my son chose to attend St John Bosco High School so he could get away from the want to be gangsters, by far that was the best choice ever. My daughter on the otherhand chose to attend Millikan High School which i now have to rethink due to the lack of security at our local high schools and the ongoing blame of budget cuts that causes this. What a crock of garbage. LBUSD with 90,000 plus children in the district how can there be a shortage of funds the schools as the parents for everything from study books to tissue who is stealing the money I think an investigation and a study of the financial books could 1) prevent violence in schools by having more security 2) land some of the education board members in prison where they belong for misuse of funds. Again my heart goes out to Melody's family for their great loss, how could they make it to the land of opportunity just to have a tragic ending.
Doug,
this is for the "concerned parent" who speaks of "being intune with their children".
If they were,then he or she would understand the term "original G". A "G" is someone who comes from the old school of "Respect",one who was raised in a time when color,race,creed did'nt have a place in todays society like it was then.I grew up in a time when there were only three non-white families on our block (westside of Long Beach) my father was a educator from the islands and retired war hero and he would always tell us "look and listen to what others have to say but don't agree if what they say attacks a person they don't know" this is the perfect reason that people "ASS-UME" before gathering facts.
I have coached at the high school and college level, owned four companies while still being a "G" and I'm amused by parents like "concerned" because they really don't get it.
GET BACK IN YOUR MONLACO BUBBLE BEFORE IT BURSTS!
It makes you think when the daughter chose Millikan who "WAS" the parent? you speak about how bad LBUSD is, then why did "YOU" ALLOW THIS CHOICE it's like telling her "here's your gun honey but I don't have any bullets" shows us poor parenting KNOWING THE DANGERS WITH THE LBUSD AND "YOU" STILL ALLOWED her to enroll at Millikan IT SEEMS "YOU" REALLY DON'T PRACTICE THIS AT HOME.
Having five kids attend schools in Long Beach it makes me "PROUD" to say "the teachers did a fine job preparing them for their futures as an educator,electrical engineer,law enforcement,communication engineer and business manager.So I guess the system worked.
g daddy,
As an educated person, the term "G" has no place in the society. If you herald yourself as being a "G" the so be it, however sooner or later you have to grow up and just call yourself a respected person. Growing up in central long beach before i took up residence in my so called "bubble" i too commiunicated with street slang. As we both know the term "Original G" is termination for original gangster you clown.
concerned parent,
what you first need to do is look over your blog before you send it, or is your hate blinding you so bad your grammer is so misplaced as is the train of thoughts you think you possess.
If "YOU" had payed closer attention to your blog and LAYED REFERENCE TO "being intune with their children" "everything starts in the home" its evident you don't help them with their homework or you would have seen how bad your grammer and spelling is.
"So back to the story at hand." As Snoop would say, "G" IS A TERM OF RESPECT, you BUSTER.
THIS SHOWS YOU REALLY AREN"T IN TUNE.
The only circus in town where the true clowns are is on Monlaco Road, I'll never forget where I'm from BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE, SELLOUT!
"G" noun. •short for "gangster" or "gangsta." Used in greeting to a friend or associate. (What's up, g?)-Online Slang Dictionary
"OG" noun. •acronym of "original gangsta." Original Gangsta; the real-life definition of a street-level mentality; no remorse or concessions for a person's (or group's) behavior associated with violence, sex and crime. A way of life, of sorts, that doesn't provide explanations or apologies because this is the "reality" of aforementioned subjects. The rapper Ice-T coined this term globally with one of the defining albums of gangsta rap, O.G. Original Gangsta.-Urban Dictionary
Enough said! A young person with a promising future has been needlessly murdered in cold blood. I picked my own daughter up not more than a couple minutes earlier from the very spot where this atrocity occurred. Too close to home!!!
When we as a society can "man-up" and do the right thing(s) these horrible events will NOT seem commonplace!
Parents-be parents! Kick your kid in the pants the first time he/she shows a liking for the idiots (gangbangers) that infest our communities like rats and other vermin.
Police need the power to pull ALL the scumbags off the streets. If they're illegally in our country, then they need to be removed! If they're under 18 the parents should be held accountable for their behaviors.
I hope they catch the perpetrator of the heinous act and he commits "Suicide by Cop"! We don't need to spend money defending and incarcerating this worthless piece of dog poo!
Most importantly, Melody, you and your family are in our prayers! Does everyone knw there is a fund set up to help the family? Contact Woodrow Wilson Classical High School to get details on how you can help.
G. Wow. What a man. Morons are G men. "Respect"? You are full of it. I grew up on the Westside, SanaFe/Willow. Thank God my parents were smart enough to get the heck out of there in the early 60s. But if I'd stayed, I would have learned the true ways of the G man. This ain't the "islands". Respect is earned and passed generation to generation through example, not some flim flam bs from the "islands".
How do we stop this from happening again? well, we can't.
But we can reduce the chances by putting the Long Beach high school football games on Saturday afternoon, like they do in other gang-infested scumbag cities where a few good parents care about their youth.
If that doesn't work, then ban fans from the game. And if that doesn't work, get rid of sports and make kids study in order to get through high school.
A very touching candlelight vigil was held at Wilson last night. About the time it ended there was breaking news that the police have two scumbag gangbangers in custody! One from Bellflower, the other from Long Beach, and both 16 years of age! SHAME on their parents!!! (If they even have any!) Try them as adults, execute them and rid the world of two more vermin! Unfortunately it will probably cost us taxpayers 100's of thousands of dollars to see justice served!!!
Ban fans from H.S. football games??? Ban the games??? Clueless!
Don't forget to contact the high school of you want to help the family of Melody Ross....All proceeds will go directly to them.
Gsux,
Could not have been said better. I totally agree with you, that fool g daddy needs to grow up and get away from the hood mentality. He claims to have five grown children so he must be in his 60's. What an idiot