Family, friends and members of the community gather during a vigil on Tuesday Nov. 21, 2023, to honor Jonathan Lewis Jr, a 17-year-old student from Rancho High School who was fatally beaten by a group of teenagers on Nov. 1.
Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023 | 2:39 p.m.
About 100 people gathered Tuesday night in an alley where a teen was mortally wounded in an after-school beating.
The event heavily featured Christian prayer for the life of Jonathan Lewis, 17, who died on Nov. 7, almost a week after a mob of classmates beat him across the street from Rancho High School in a vicious assault that Metro Police said stemmed from a fight over stolen headphones and a vape pen.
His father, Jonathan Lewis Sr., said he is not affiliated with any religious group but seemed welcoming of the support.
He had a message: if young people can get in a mob to inflict pain, then they have a collective voice — a voice that can be used to ask for help instead.
“I want you to think about something if you're a young man or woman. Is this how you want to be remembered? Do you want to be remembered as a coward? Do you want to be remembered as somebody that just beat their classmate to death? Or do you want to be remembered as somebody that has honor and respect, and love and dignity?” Lewis said. “Do you want to be remembered for having the great strength of love? Because guess what, it takes a lot more strength to be loving and be kind and be respectful to one another.”
Jesus Marquez of the local American Christian Caucus read a statement on behalf of Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony offering condolences to the families of Lewis and others who have lost loved ones to violence.
“Schools should be community centers for learning, a safe place for our children to dream and grow. When tragedy occurs, it impacts all of us,” Anthony wrote. “Today, we pray in honor of Jonathan, along with the other past victims whose lives were taken away so early. Tomorrow, let's all work together and commit to making our neighborhoods and communities safe for all of our children so that they can continue to dream and grow with no fear of violence, and with great hope of the future.”
Las Vegas City Councilwoman Victoria Seaman said the younger Lewis shouldn’t be defined by his death but his love and potential. She demanded accountability for his killers.
“The tragic and senseless violence that took Jonathan from us is a stark reminder of the fragility of life and the inexcusable toll that violence can take on our communities. It is a reminder that we cannot and must not tolerate such acts of brutality,” she said.“Jonathan's life was a precious gift that should be cherished, nurtured and celebrated. Instead, it was cut short, leaving us a void that we cannot fill. We must unite as a community to honor Jonathan's memory by reaffirming our commitment to creating a society where every person is safe, valued and respected.”
Metro Police have arrested nine young suspects, ages 13 to 17, in connection with Lewis’ death. At least four are being prosecuted as adults, facing charges of second-degree murder.
The other five are in the juvenile justice system and face court hearings to determine if they will also be prosecuted as adults. Police are also seeking a 10th suspect.
Viral video of the incident shows a swarming crowd punching, kicking and stomping the barely visible Lewis, who was crumpled against a fence not defending himself.
A neighbor carried the unconscious boy to Rancho, where school staff attempted life-saving measures before medics took him to University Medical Center, authorities said.
At the exact spot seen in the video, on uneven asphalt that had been swept of trash for a memorial, people left flowers and prayed Tuesday.
Tuesday’s vigil was organized by several conservative and Christian groups, including the local chapter of the controversial Moms For Liberty. Locally, Moms For Liberty members have filled recent Clark County School District meetings demanding a repeal of a policy, required by a state law, to support transgender and gender nonconforming students.
The Southern Poverty Law Center considers Moms For Liberty an extremist group that is a “far-right organization that engages in anti-student inclusion activities and self-identifies as part of the modern parental rights movement. The group grew out of opposition to public health regulations for COVID-19, opposes LGBTQ+ and racially inclusive school curriculum, and has advocated books bans.”
Speakers at the vigil did not broach these topics.
Troy Martinez, a pastor who founded the Dads in Schools that aims to provide conflict “prevention through presence” at schools, acknowledged that not everybody is religious but that everybody can know right from wrong.
“I'm not ashamed of God. Some people don't believe in God. That's OK,” he said. “But I can still say that doesn't excuse us from the responsibility to teach our children right and wrong. Whether God said it – do not kill, thou shalt not kill, in the Bible – or the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department enforces a law that says, thou shalt not kill, it's the same exact law.”
