Family outraged after hoax memorial at middle school in South LA targets special needs teen
LOS ANGELES - Outrage is growing after a fake memorial was made at an LAUSD middle school targeting a special needs student.
A hoax shrine was created saying Jamari Baker had been killed by gang members in South LA, but 13-year-old Jamari is alive; now his parents and community members are demanding answers.
The shrine was placed in the hallway of Bethune Middle School, which is located in South LA. It's unclear if fellow students constructed the hoax shrine or if a staff member did.
Pounding his feet on the ground, Jamari is trying to cope with emotions that his mom says are overwhelming.
"I just don't know why life treats me like this," Jamari, who has autism, told FOX 11.
"That's like a threat on my son's life. Like, that's something you should take seriously," his mother Sophia Davis said. "He don't interact with anyone. And that's what's so heartbreaking here is because even the staff here say when they see him, he's just sitting on a bench by himself and he'll just look at his phone, don't interact, don't play, don't talk, don't do anything."
His mom says his friends are stuffed animals in his bedroom, he has about 300 of them.
His family is demanding answers and they want to know who put up the hoax memorial. The family says they have suspicion it could be an adult staff member, but there's no proof.
Civil rights activist and Director of Project Islamic Hope, Najee Ali, says if there were more cameras in the school, maybe there would be video of the act.
"Not only does that camera help keep the children safe. It also helps keep the staff safe."
For the safety of her son, Jamari's mom said she had to pull her son out of school due to fear it could be some kind of threat.
Finding a new school has been tough. She says, "I haven’t even found a school yet. It’s like where do I take him.."
Surrounded with family members from Long Beach to Apple Valley, Davis made a plea to the perpetrator.
"This is horrible. That's what you did to my son. You broke him. You broke my son heart and you broke my heart," his mother emotionally said.
LAUSD issued a statement saying, "The safety of students and employees remains our top priority. Any threat on campus, alleged or otherwise, is taken seriously, and each incident is fully investigated by our law enforcement partners. Los Angeles Unified does not condone any type of misconduct in our schools. Bethune Middle School and Los Angeles Unified are committed to providing a safe and nurturing learning environment for all students. We are also offering full support and campus resources to this student and family to assist in this situation."