Friends and neighbors rally support for 8-year-old Donald “DJ” Maiden, shooting victim: Facebook.com
Police say they have no evidence that 8-year-old Donald “DJ” Maiden’s shooting at La Bella Palm apartments was a hate crime, but they are still waiting to interview the child, who can’t talk yet, due to his injuries.
Dallas activist Roy Williams voiced concerns to the Dallas City Council members Tuesday about the investigation of the late-September crime in which a middle-aged white man allegedly shot DJ in the face while he played in his apartment complex parking lot.
The council meeting came a week after Williams, D.J.’s mom Sharon Locklin and others asked publicly for a hate crime investigation by Dallas police. Dallas Police Chief David Brown responded at yesterday’s session. They have no evidence, Brown says, that the shooting was a hate crime.
By definition a hate crime is racially motivated violence, and while the accused shooter, Brian Cloninger is white and his alleged victim is black, police have no witnesses other than Donald himself (who is recovering but cannot talk), and have found no evidence to suggest the attack was racially motivated. They will continue to probe, Brown says.
“Until we are able to [have] a full conversation/interview with this child, we won’t know any of the real details that only he will know,” Brown told the council and attendees.
One resident of the La Bella Palm apartment community told police that Cloninger admitted to shooting the child, but offered no explanation, according to the arrest warrant. To date, Cloninger stands accused of injury to a child, a first-degree felony that can carry a life sentence.
During yesterday’s hearing, the mayor and council members offered support to both the victim’s family and the police investigating the shooting.
Mayor Mike Rawlings and District 10 councilman Jerry Allen reportedly said they would make sure the family understands the various financial and social resources available to them. Allen noted a fund to assist the family. It will replace the fundraising effort we wrote about earlier this week. Scroll down for details on this and other ways to assist the family.
Meanwhile, neighborhood police note that, in addition to this particular case, the ongoing issue of apartment crime in the northeast sector/ Lake Highlands, runs deep and must be addressed through preventative measures.
Sergeant Kedrick Jones poses with a young resident of the Bella Palms apartments who says he hopes to be a police officer when he grows up
Sergeant Kedrick Jones, who helped organize a safety meeting at the Bella Palm apartments last week, says that in every community there is a percentage of residents willing to be proactive about crime prevention. In any neighborhood or apartment community it’s generally about 10-15 percent of the residents who are active when it comes to crime prevention and neighborhood improvement, he says. These folks will attend crime watch meetings and assist the police by reporting suspicious activity. La Bella Palm is no different, evidenced by participation in last week’s presentation. The apartment managers also were in attendance.
Jones along with officer Krystal Woods reminded residents in attendance to call 9-1-1 anytime they see something suspicious. “If you see someone in the complex who you know doesn’t live here hanging around, call us,” Woods told the residents.
“When I call the apartment security,” one resident complained, “they do not answer.” The apartment manager told him they were working to improving private security at the complex. Woods assured him that it is OK to call 9-1-1 regarding security issues. 9-1-1 operators separate emergency and non emergency calls, so if you see something, says something, the officer said, and let the operator know if it is an emergency.
How to contribute, after the jump …
How to help Donald Maiden and his family:
Donate cash to 1st Convenient Bank c/o Sharon Locklin for Donald Maiden Jr. — 800.903.7490, 9140 Forest Lane.
Donald, left, poses with his siblings: Facebook.com
Donate clothing/goods to Donald and siblings. Pan African Connection, 828 Fourth Ave. and Act of Change, Inc. will accept donations during business hours:
DJ: 8 years old, size 10 clothes 3.5 shoes
Doniya: 9 years old, size 12 clothes 4.5 shoes
Shamarian: 6 years old, size 10 clothes
Shariah: 4 years old, size 4 clothes, 10 shoes
LaKamryn: 1 year old, 12 months clothes size, 4 shoe
DJ’s neighbors will hold a car wash fundraiser Saturday from 10-2 at the Bella Palms, 9450 Royal Lane.
