Turlock teenager stabbed to death: What is causing violent crime in teens?
TURLOCK -- A usually quiet and affluent Turlock neighborhood is now shaken up by the deadly stabbing of a 17-year-old boy, raising the alarm for violence among the youth. It happened in the 2000 block of N. Daubenberger Road at around 10:45 p.m. on Friday.
"It was a party, but then it escalated, and it turns out that more people showed up then were invited, and people were turned away and things did not work out," said one neighbor who did not want to be identified.
Several neighbors said the victim left a grad party happening at a home on Majestic Court. He then got into a fight with who police are describing as young men in their teens or early twenties.
"I do not know if we had called the police that something would have been done," said the neighbor.
CBS13 learned he was stabbed by a mailbox on N. Daubenberger Rd., and later died from his injuries in the hospital.
"Very unfortunate," said the neighbor. "This is not something we expect to see but it happens everywhere."
Community activist Berry Accius with Voice of Youth agrees.
"They have no real outlets to convey their pain, anger or frustration so you are going to see a lot of stuff play out," said Accius.
He said the pandemic robbed kids of resources and opportunities, so now they are turning to violence.
"An idle mind is a devil's playground," said Accius. "Our young people are acting so corrupt, just acting like real savages on the streets."
Accius said there is not one solution to this rise in violent crime in youth, but it starts with kids being supported while at home, at school and in the community.
"It does not help with the social media, it does not help with the music, it does not help with the video games," said Accius.
He has been taking groups of kids to tour colleges in what he calls "transformational travel" to show them there is more to life.
"It is about getting young people out of their confines or their comfortability," Accius said.
Accius said until there is more funding and investment we will continue to see more young people dying in these violent crimes.
"We are not just talking about Turlock and Sacramento, this is just a national wave of violence when it comes to young people," said Accius.
Police are still searching for the suspects involved in this deadly stabbing.
This is not the only teen in our area who died this week. A Grant Union High student was shot and killed in North Highlands just a day before graduation.