TheLittleTwentieth – Renowned Papers Edition, AI Infused

Local sources from United States: PEOPLE, Las Vegas Review-Journal.
UK coverage: Sky News.

Tragedy struck Las Vegas on November 1st when 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis Jr. was brutally beaten to death by a mob of 15 people outside of Rancho High School. Jonathan’s father, Jonathan Lewis Sr., told PEOPLE that his son had been standing up for a smaller friend who had something stolen from him and was thrown in a bin. According to Lewis Sr., two people initially attacked his son, but when they were unable to hurt him enough, the entire group attacked him at once.

The Metropolitan Police Department of Las Vegas is investigating the attack and no arrests have been made yet. Lewis Sr. told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the entire family is in shock over the death of their son. Jonathan had been living with his mother in Las Vegas and was planning to move to Austin, Texas, with his father.

In a GoFundMe page set up for Jonathan, he was described as “a kind, loving, and gentle young man with the heart of a champion and the brightest loving energy that draws people to him with love.” His father wrote on the page that Jonathan was an aspiring artist interested in drawing, photography, and painting, and that he was considering joining the military like his grandfather.

Lewis Sr. hopes that his son’s death will open conversations about violence in Las Vegas involving young people. He said, “I hope they find a way to forgive in their hearts and find a way to come to terms with what they’ve done. I think there’s a failure of humanity as a whole to recognize that we have to teach our youth to coexist.”

The family has set up a foundation called Team Jonathan to address the root causes of violence and hate. The GoFundMe page has raised over $47,000 to date.

Jonathan Lewis Jr. was a young man full of love, generosity, and courage who cared deeply for his community. His tragic death reflects the divisive, conflict-ridden, and uncaring state in which our society and humanity currently face when it comes to how we interact with our community. Empathy and love are a great strength, and cowardly violence is pathetic. May Jonathan’s memory live on forever.