Sacramento-area family seeks justice for teen killed in L.A. house party shooting
SACRAMENTO — The family of a Sacramento-area teen who was killed over the weekend in a shooting at a Los Angeles house party has issued an emotional plea for justice.
Sah'Dell Roberts, 16, was a student at Highland High School in the Sacramento County city of North Highlands. He was a rising rapper and lyricist, according to his stepmother Patricia Biggs, who said Roberts was in Los Angeles for the wekeend to see out his dreams of a music career.
Biggs said Roberts was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The family said they don't know how Roberts and another family member got in to a so-called "VIP party" in the Woodland Hills neighborhood. There were as many as 300 people at the event, which was advertised on social media as 18 and up.
Roberts played basketball at Center High School in nearby Antelope before he transferred to Highland. Biggs said it kept him focused on things like music. Now, the family hopes someone at that party can give them answers.
"We're going to stay on this until we find out because we're just looking for some type of answers of what happened and why it happened," Biggs said. "I know somebody heard something, taped something. You know technology nowadays. We're just looking for closure."
The gunman shot six others, who are wll expected to survive. Those six victims were men aged between 19 and 34.
Roberts' family went to Highland High School on Tuesday where the district's crisis intervention team is available for what the school called a senseless act of violence. The support is available for both students and faculty.
The Twin Rivers Unified School District, of which Highland High is a part of, issued the following statement:
"Words cannot express the profound sadness we feel at the loss of one of our students in a senseless act of violence. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this incredibly difficult time. Please know that the District's Crisis Intervention Team is available to our students and staff in the wake of this tragedy. We are committed to providing the care and assistance they may need during this time of mourning."
The family is confident in the Los Angeles Police Department to find the shooter, but they have not heard from the party's organizers on how a gun got into a party with security.
