Mother Makes Emotional Plea For Help In Shooting Death Of Son

MONTEREY PARK (CBSLA.com) — Authorities announced a $10,000 reward Friday for information that helps solve the drive-by shooting death two years ago of a young man in the unincorporated Willowbrook area of Los Angeles County, and his mother made an emotional plea for help from the community.

Kejon Wayne Atkins, 22, was shot about 11:30 a.m. July 23, 2015, as he stood near 126th Street and Wilmington Avenue, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reported.

"Kejon was an avid fan of football and was a member of the Long Beach City College football team as a student athlete," a sheriff's statement said.

Atkins' mother Techea Adams said the sounds of the day continue to haunt her. "That day will not stop playing though my head, no matter how hard I try."

A gold sedan approached Atkins that day, and a passenger fired several shots, wounding him. He died four days later at a hospital.

"Surveillance video captured two suspected vehicles fleeing the location," the sheriff's statement said.

Adams implored parents to take greater roles in understanding what kind of activities their children are involved in on the streets.

"Pretty soon, we're not going to have a generation because we're killing each other," she said. "And it has nothing to do with color. ... All of us are humans, and we bleed the same color."

One was described as an older-model, gold-colored four-door sedan. The other was described as a maroon Pontiac Aztek SUV, possibly with a gray lower half.

Anyone with information on the crime was urged to call the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500, or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.

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