In a brutal episode of violence, a 17-year-old Las Vegas native, Jonathan Lewis Jr., died following a vicious attack by an estimated group of 15 individuals near Rancho High School.
Jonathan Lewis Sr., the victim’s father, confirmed this on Tuesday.
The attack happened on Wednesday, November 1.
“Today at 11:26 am my son was pronounced dead he will always be so loved as his dad I’ll forever hold him in my heart, shine even brighter, love even more and work all my life to bring peace into this world,” Lewis Sr. wrote.
The teenage boy was undergoing treatment at the University Medical Center when he tragically passed away due to his injuries, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
According to Lewis Sr., the confrontation began when his son stood up for a smaller friend, leading to an escalated attack by multiple assailants.
“Jonathan stood up for one of his smaller friends,” Lewis said.
A couple (of people) attacked him, and they weren’t able to hurt him enough, and they all attacked him at once,” he said.
Despite the severity of the incident, no arrests have been reported.
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The family is in shock, grappling with the loss of Lewis Jr., whom his father described as a kind, loving, and community-oriented individual, aspiring to pursue art and possibly follow in his grandfather’s footsteps in the military.
“This horrific tragedy is reflective of the divisive, conflict based, uncaring state that our society and humanity is currently facing with how we interact with our community,” Lewis wrote. “Empathy and love are great strength and cowardly violence is pathetic.”
“We denounce violence as a means to sociological conflict and believe being living, caring, respectful, kind, compassion, and caring are the great strength of community and emphasize that those are the values that the warriors of our family teach,” he added.
The Clark County coroner’s office has yet to officially confirm Lewis Jr.’s death, with further details awaited amidst the ongoing police investigation and public outcry over the tragic event.
A fundraising campaign has been launched by Lewis Sr. to support his family, which already raised almost $25,000.
From GoFundMe:
I’m sure many of you have seen the news in Las Vegas of our son who is in critical condition and on life support after what the news is describing as 15 people attacking him. We can’t release any other information yet except to say that we denounce violence as a means to resolve sociological conflict, we believe community members can coexist peacefully, and we love our son and all children with all our hearts!
Our son is a kind, loving, gentle young man who has the heart of a champion and the brightest loving energy that attracts people to him with love! He’s an aspiring artist, devoted big brother, and a fierce protector of love ones! We are so grateful for all the love and community support that has poured in for our son and hope that the world will focus on all that love and compassion as a beacon of hope for human relations and place recognition upon how much stronger the love and the spirit of community is than the dark moments of violence. Love wins our son is a champion of love and family and the resilient spirit of human perseverance and will to be good and kind and loving!
We have been given a statement from our son’s girlfriend that what occurred was that one of his smaller friends had something stolen by this group of 15 and they threw the small boy in the trash can and our son confronted them and he was attacked by them. He’s a courageous young man.
