Slain Youth, Officer Were Neighbors Worlds Apart

Several youths were riding motorbikes in the early evening on Atlantic Street and in the alleyway behind it. An SUV showed up sometime after 7 p.m. and made at least three passes around the block. On the third, the SUV and one of the minibikes crossed paths in the alley. The SUV backed up, and shots were fired in quick bursts. DeOnt¿ had been shot in the head.

Many residents were adamant that only the police fired shots and that officers did not try to administer aid once DeOnt¿ was lying on the concrete, bleeding.

"The police are supposed to protect and serve," one woman said. "But the only people they protect and serve is themselves."

No weapon has been found. Although some maintain that DeOnté never had a weapon, others whisper privately that another youth might have fired at the officers. In a neighborhood where young people have long-standing beefs with other areas, residents said, an SUV backing up in the darkness could have been seen as trouble.

"There's a level of unrest and distrust," Lockridge said.

* * *

Louise Dixon, 73, who has lived in Condon Terrace since the early 1980s, is watching a familiar pattern. Help speeds in to scoop up bodies, put out fires. Government grants come and go. Community groups throw barbecues, occasionally take young people on trips. But too many teenagers continue to drop out of school and get into trouble.

"Our young people need help. They're in turmoil," Dixon said.

Bridging that gap isn't just the government's job, said Monica Brewster, a 31-year-old real estate agent who moved to Walter E. Washington Estates a year ago.

She runs past Condon Terrace every morning but had no idea, until recently, that many people who live there feel as if they are under siege.

The two developments, at their closest points, are less than a block apart. But the communities interact little, she said. Her neighbors often report burglaries even though they live behind gates and believe the thieves live outside the development.

"We are one community," Brewster said. "Some are going through hard times; others of us are doing a little better. I wish there was more interaction."