| This is a tragic story, but as you read you will see that Peggy Allardyce ('71) was a spokes person for the family. This appeared in the Daily Review (where else?) on Wednesday, April 15th, 1998. | ||
| HAYWARD - A teen-ager troubled by the
suicide of his girlfriend shot himself to death with a shotgun near his
Hayward home Monday.
A police officer, called to Clearbrook Circle to check out a telephone call from a resident who noticed someone carrying what appeared to be a rifle, had just gotten out of his patrol car and was walking toward the 17-year-old when the boy fired the fatal shot. The teenager was wearing a black sweat shirt that bore the word "Rest in Peace" and "In Memory of La Chyna", according to police. The sweat shirt was designed as a tribute to the youth's 14-year-old girlfriend, who died last year as the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to a friend of the boy's family. The boy had been emotionally rocked after seeing his father suffer a fatal heart attack about 2½ years ago, said the family friend, Peggy Allardyce. The teenager was forced to confront his grief anew after his girlfriend committed suicide late last year, Allardyce said. In a note he left for his family and friends, the boy expressed his feeling of having lost the people closest to him. "He wrote that the people he cared most about about were all gone," Allardyce said. "He didn't seem to realize that he was surrounded by people who loved him more than anything." Family members and friends said they had little clue the teenager was suicidal. The boy went to school in Hayward, and Monday landed a job working for a local moving company. The teenager went out with friends that day to celebrate. "We thought he was happy and things were looking up for him," Allardyce said. "This is just incomprehensible." The teenager chatted normally with his mother and younger brother before he left their home and walked down the hill about 5:30 pm, the friend said. A Clearbrook resident who noticed the youth carrying what turned out to be a shotgun called police a short time later, said police Sgt. Raul Valdivia. The youth appeared crouched near the curb, his back to the patrol car, when an officer pulled up at 6:02 pm., Valdivia said. The officer got out of the car and called a greeting to the youth, who was about 20 feet away, the sergeant said. The teenager looked back over his shoulder at the officer, then pointed a shotgun at his head and fired, according to police. The officer is undergoing counseling to deal with the trauma from witnessing the tragedy, Valdivia said. The boy's mother heard a siren and went out to investigate, then recognized her son's shoes and sweatshirt at the scene. "His mother is just beside herself," Allardyce said. "None of us had any warning this was going to happen." Police are trying to determine where the teenager got the shotgun. The Hayward born boy aspired to attend the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. Those who knew him described him as a gifted artist. His pencil drawings adorn the walls of the home his family just moved into this past weekend, Allardyce said. |
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