SundayNewspaper

2 R SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2019 | | News A11 photo of Lexing on the front. On the back, “Rest in peace, brother. 10/3/1999 to 5/11/2019.” “What can we do as a people, as a society?” to prevent such tragedies, Lynette Mitchell, an aunt, asked in between hugs. “We need to figure out a way.” “We need to let the kids know their video games are virtual reality. In real life, they don’t get up [after being shot].” Mitchell said she hopes the conversation about gun violence is sustained beyond the typical day or two of news coverage. “This is a story that needs to be heard, that needs to be seen,” she said. “When do we stop and say enough is enough?” Wiping away tears, Laura Walker tried to describe her emotions on the eve of Mother’s Day. “I’m numb. I want an- swers,” Lexing’s mother said. “I want [the shooter or shooters] found and I want them to be held account- able.” She could barely bring herself to talk about her son. “He was a good kid,” she said. After the barrage of gun- fire around 3:15 p.m. Fri- day, Lexing was driven to SwedishMedical Center’s Cherry Hill campus, with two others who had been wounded. Lexing was pro- nounced dead at the hospi- tal. “He was sweet. He was a good man,” for whom foot- ball was a passion, cousin < Shooting FROM A1 Danielle Grant, 18, said at Saturday night’s vigil. “Now he’s looking out for every- one out here.” The other victims, a 20- year-old man and a 46-year- old man, had injuries that were described as not life- threatening. The older man was in serious condition Saturday and the other in satisfactory condition, according to Susan Gregg, a spokeswom- an at HarborviewMedical Center, where the men were taken later Friday. Police were searching for suspects Saturday and had yet to release detailed de- scriptions. Chang Sunwoo, the own- er of Union Teriyaki and Market, said Friday he heard what sounded like 15 to 20 shots. When he looked out- side, he saw shell casings but no shooters or victims. Gunfire erupted in the Central District and else- where Friday night. There was a shooting around 11 p.m. at 46th Avenue South and South Eddy Street in Rainier Val- ley. Police who responded found an 18-year-old wounded under his arm and another man who was un- scathed. Police said the men told them they were walking in the neighborhood when a gray van and a blue car started following them. People from both vehicles began firing at the men, one of whom pulled out a hand- gun and fired back. He was the man who escaped injury. Medics took the 18-year-old to Harborview. Around midnight, near the Central District fire station at South Jackson Street andMartin Luther King Jr. Way South, a group of people playing cards and barbecuing outside was fired upon, the people told police. Multiple shots hit a 40- year-old, who fled to the fire station. Medics took him to Harborview, where he was rushed into surgery. Neither of the men wounded Friday night was in life-threatening condition Saturday, Gregg said. Police were investigating both incidents Saturday but had not announced any arrests. Detective Patrick Mi- chaud, a police spokesman, said he had no information suggesting the shootings were related to Friday after- noon’s deadly shooting. He said police, in such situa- tions, always look into the possibility of retaliation. A week before Friday’s shootings, also in the Cen- tral District, a woman was shot at Cherry Street and 23rd Avenue, near Garfield Community Center. She was taken to Harborview in stable condition. The number of person (nonproperty) crimes re- ported in the Central District has increased in recent years, from 98 in 2015, to 115 in 2016, 119 in 2017, and 141 last year, according to the police department’s online dashboard. There were no homicides in the neighborhood last year, however. ThroughMarch, there had been 18 person crimes re- ported in the Central Dis- trict, down from 21 over the same time period last year. Nina Shapiro: nshapiro@seattletimes.com . Daniel Beekman: 206-464-2164 or dbeekman@seattletimes.com ; on Twitter: @dbeekman. A L A N B E R N E R / T H E S E A T T L E T I ME S Laura Walker, mother of Royale Lexing, briefly spoke about her son and her loss. A L A N B E R N E R / T H E S E A T T L E T I ME S Photos of Royale Lexing are displayed Saturday on the East Union Street side of the store near the shooting site. A L A N B E R N E R / T H E S E A T T L E T I ME S A portrait from 2018 of Royale Lexing. FROM THE FRONT PAGE THE RIGHT DEGREE CHANGES EVERYTHING. An exclusive scholarship opportunity is available to new WGU BSN and MSN students. 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