"It is a community problem": Stockton leaders host town hall following murder of Chavez High student at Unity Park
STOCKTON -- Leaders representing the City of Stockton, Cesar Chavez High School, the Stockton Unified School District and its Department of Public Safety came together to host a town hall meeting at Arnold Rue Community Center to address concerns about the recent murder of a student.
Thai Khin, 17, was shot and killed Wednesday afternoon while playing basketball at Unity Park with a 16-year-old friend who was pistol-whipped, but not seriously injured. The park sits right across the street from Chavez High School and is frequented by students.
Monday night, with around 100 community members in attendance, the town hall gave voice to community fears.
"My son goes to Chavez, he plays on that basketball court. It really hit me hard. It could have been my son. Just because it wasn't doesn't mean it doesn't hurt," said one commenter who identified herself as a mother and teacher within the district.
At the microphone, several parents and community members spoke, shocked by the loss of Khin.
Some have already started turning words into action, like father and community activist Lamar Scott, with sights set on unity at Unity Park.
"I organized a neighborhood watch. Today was our first day out there making sure our kids didn't have to feel scared," said Scott at the microphone.
Khin's death is now Stockton's 20th homicide since the start of 2023. This time last year, 19 homicides were recorded.
"When violence impacts our young people, it is triggering. At the same time, what we don't talk enough about is the trauma it causes that lingers on," Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln told CBS13 before the meeting Monday.
Lincoln told community members that he is listening.
"We are going to do everything we can, use every resource within our power to make sure the residents of Stockton, especially our students, are protected," Lincoln told CBS13.
Stockton Unified School District leaders also told CBS13 before the meeting that the death of a student, even off campus, is a call to action.
"We are coming together because it isn't just one person's problem, it is a community problem," said Melinda Meza, a spokesperson for the district. "This didn't happen at two in the morning, this didn't happen in a back alley, this is our youth right in broad daylight."
Ellena Gibbons, a teacher at Chavez High and a mother showed up to Monday night's meeting, with her "Moms Demand Action" shirt on. She says a Stockton chapter of the national movement to pass gun laws and prevent gun violence has recently been established.
"I'm tired of people not talking about what is the real issue," Gibbons told CBS13.
Gibbons says she asked her students to write their feelings down, trying to help them express their emotions after the death of a friend and classmate. Unprompted, she says several expressed concern about tighter gun laws.
"That's when I realized how, not just sad they were, but angry they were about the feeling of unsafety not just in their city, but their state and the United States," said Gibbons.
The Stockton community is demanding more than just conversations, but change.
"How can we unite around this one common cause and that is to protect our students and improve the quality of life for everyone in our community?" Lincoln told CBS13. "We want every single young person in the city of Stockton to know we see them and we care about them."
Stockton police have not yet made an arrest of the two suspects believed to be responsible for the shooting of Khin and assault of his friend.
Stockton police say the two suspects took off on foot.
This isn't the first time in recent months that police are investigating a violent incident at Unity Park. Back in August 2022, a fight at the park ended with one person being stabbed. The victim in that incident was also a Stockton Unified student, the district said. That student suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
