"Someday my generation is gonna rule the population"

My heart is broken right now...

It all started on Sunday afternoon. I was in the middle of watching Kung-Fu Panda and I got a text message asking if I had heard about the local high school kid that was killed. Shocked that I hadn't heard anything, I asked her what happened. She proceeded to tell me that three boys from my old high school shot another local kid point blank in the head. Two of the boys graduated from Sinagua with my brother, they were 18, and the other was going to be a senior, he was 17. The boy that was shot was only 16 and he had dropped out from one of the other high schools in town. My friend told me that she had heard that the boy that they shot was their drug dealer and their confrontation was over drugs.

This has been the topic of conversation with every person I have come in contact with that has lived in Flagstaff for more than 10 years. Whether it be running in to them at the grocery store, or seeing them at the gym, someone seems to have another piece of the puzzle that is this murder. They either talk about these kid's family lives, or what they were involved in or who their friends are. Everyone seems to have heard new information from someone who knows them or someone who is involved.

I feel like I am watching a television drama as I wait in anticipation for the next bit of information. Everyday the police release more information pertaining to the murder. So far, they have found that the murder was in fact over drugs. The night before the murder the 17 year old contacted the 16 year old and was interested in trading him some marijuana for ecstasy. The 16 year old agreed and set up a place for them to meet. When they met the 16 year old started beating the other kid, stole his marijuana and cell phone and told him to never try and sell drugs in his territory again. The 17 year old went home angry and called his friend (one of the 18 year olds charged) and his friend brought over a pellet gun and and loaded handgun. He gave him the pellet gun saying that it wouldn't get him in trouble if he used it. This was around 4am on last Thursday morning. Thursday night at 10pm was when the 16 year old's body was found with one gunshot wound in his head. He was already dead by the time they found him. Two of the boys are being charged with 1st degree murder, robbery and kidnapping. The third boy is being charged with premeditated murder, robbery and kidnapping.

I think the reason that this is the topic of everyone's conversation is because we are completely shocked. This is not the Flagstaff that we remember. People are shocked that teenagers that go to school with their kids would kill another person over drugs. My heart is broken because these kid's lives are over because of this decision, and in a town like Flagstaff, their family's lives are over too. Anyone who has recently attended high school in Flagstaff knows that there is a huge drug problem here and knows where to get drugs if they wanted to, but I think that this murder will open the eyes of the entire town, including law enforcement, to the reality of the drug problem, and that something needs to be done to stop it.

Here are links to the articles that have been in the local newspaper giving the newest information:

Sunday July 13th, 2008
Monday July 14th, 2008
Tuesday July 15th, 2008
Wednesday July 16th, 2008