Father of beaten Las Vegas high school student on life support speaks out on ‘absurd madness’ of situation
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - FOX5 spoke to the father of a Las Vegas Valley teen who was severely beaten by a group of 15 people, and that man’s heartfelt message was clear.
“Although our hearts are broken and this tragedy is absolutely absurd madness, we want to focus on the legacy of our son. Jonathan was a loving, giving, kind, fierce young man who loved community and caring for others,” Jonathan Lewis said.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officers responded to a battery call at Searles Ave. and 21st St. near Rancho High School on Nov. 1 and found a student who was “battered and bleeding from the head.” He was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition and later placed on life support.
The boy’s father told FOX5 that multiple members of his family have served in the military, and added that “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.”
Empathy and love are great strength and cowardly violence is pathetic. A true warrior would never cowardly beat one person just because the two or three members of the group couldn’t beat the one warrior, a true warrior would let the others learn and grow.
Jonathan Lewis, father
He added that the family denounces violence “as a means to sociological conflict,” saying instead that they “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.”
Information about a GoFundMe campaign for Jonathan is available here.
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