The shooting death of a former Bowman Academy athlete should serve as a warning to young people to be aware of their surroundings, Gary Common Council President Ronald Brewer said.
He used a council meeting on Tuesday to comment on Annette January, a freshman at Southern University in Louisiana who was a track and field star in Gary.
Police in Baton Rouge say January and Lashuntae Benton got caught in the crossfire earlier this month between two men trying to shoot each other. One man was wounded.
January died of a single gunshot wound to the chest. She was a member of the track team at Southern.
Brewer said he believes everybody can benefit from being mindful about their surroundings when in public.
He said he has told his own children to pay more attention to where they are. “The worst feeling one can have is to get that phone call (from police) asking you to come (identify) a child to see if it’s yours.”
Meanwhile, the Southern University System voted at a board meeting Friday to award January and Benton posthumous degrees, according to WAFB-TV.
Gregory Tejeda is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. The Associated Press contributed.
