Gang Member Kills a Fourteen Year Old and Claims Self Defense

Violence is not the way. Unfortunately, many gang members throughout the world disagree greatly with that statement. Several years ago, a man who was involved with a gang allegedly shot and killed a fourteen year old boy. The man claims it was self defense, but it will be up to the jury to decide whether or not that is the case.

The alleged murder is believed to be the result of a typical gang drive-by shooting. The boy who was killed was hanging out with some of his friends outside of one of their homes. The boy himself wasn’t in a gang, but some of his friends were. Their gang happened to be enemies with the gang that Stephen Lopez was involved with.

Lopez drove by the home where his enemies were hanging out. Then, he allegedly told his friend who was driving to drive by again and to get him his gun. Upon driving by again, Lopez allegedly opened fire on the group and fatally wounded the young boy.

Lopez claims that it he fired upon the group because they fired at him first. There is little evidence to support this though. The prosecutor pointed out that if they fired on him the first time he drove by and it scared him, then why would he drive by a second time.

To me this doesn’t sound like a case of self defense. It sounds like gangland warfare. All too often, even outside of the gang scene, people kill other people and claim that they were defending themselves when they really weren’t. Of course, it really doesn’t matter what I think of the case. It is all on the shoulders of the jury.