Los Angeles

Family of Deadly Shooting Victim Donte Jones Calls for Justice

"This was a senseless act of violence. My son was a hardworking man."

Dozens of Donte Jones' relatives gathered and stood in solidarity and sorrow Tuesday night in Historic South-Central Los Angeles, demanding justice at at the site where the 28-year-old was shot on Friday.

Jones was fatally shot while sitting in a parked car.

"He was 28 years old," Tionna Wedlow, Jones' sister says. "And he was murdered right here in a supposed gang initiation."

His father, Gregory Jones, says, "This was a senseless act of violence. My son was a hardworking man."

Jones' girlfriend "Kneeya," who was with her boyfriend in the car at the time of the shooting, spoke publicly for the first time Tuesday.

"All I hear is boom boom boom," she says. "Donte threw his body on me. Threw his body to cover me, and the car sped off."

Security video shows a car pull up next to the couple and take off down Wall Street.

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Police and paramedics responded to the scene, but Jones' could not be saved.

"My heart is broke," the girlfriend continues. "I'm upset. I'm hurt. I don't know why anyone would do this to him, because he didn't do nothing to nobody." 

The victim's family vows to work through their grief and make sure his killing isn't lost in the police's cold case files.

"We need to find who did this to my brother," Wedlow says with understandable emotion. "They should not be on the streets." 

Talisha Weicks, the victim's sister, makes a plea and a promise, "Whoever did this, just turn yourself in. We're not gonna stop. We're getting justice for Donte."

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