Neighborhood, mother determined to solve 2-year-old murder

Saturday, July 22, 2017
Neighborhood determined to solve 2-year-old murder
A mother and the Willowbrook neighborhood are waiting for tips after the release of surveillance video showing the two-year-old shooting of Kejon Wayne Atkins.

WILLOWBROOK, Calif. (KABC) -- A mother and her neighborhood are waiting for tips after the release of surveillance video showing the shooting of her son two years ago.

Multiple shots were fired at Kejon Wayne Atkins, 22, at 126th and South Wilmington Avenue in the Willowbrook neighborhood in 2015. Surveillance video of the shooting was released Friday, showing a gunman firing out of the back seat of a champagne-colored sedan. The vehicle was one of two linked to the drive-by.

"It really aches me how the young men of today do not value life," said Techea Adams, the victim's mother.

The footage shows as many as four people in the two cars. The second vehicle was a maroon over grey Pontiac Aztec or Vibe.

"The witness was able to see the suspect was not wearing a shirt and he was able to see tattoos on his back," said Det. Theo Baljet of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.

Detectives said Atkins had no gang ties. He played running back at Long Beach Community College and was getting ready for a jog close to his home before somebody killed him.

"I had to sell my house and move off my street because that day will not stop playing through my head," said Adams.

Neighbors and supporters will join a walk for justice at 126th and Wilmington at 4 p.m. on Sunday.

"We do need to speak up. What if it was your child, what if it was your brother, your sister," said supporter Rondalynne Williams of the Trinity Life Learning Center.

The LA County Sheriff's Department is offering a $10,000 reward for information related to the Atkins shooting. Adams is hoping for a new measure of conscience and compassion for the lost young life.

"I wish this pain on no parent, no mother, no family," said Adams.