SPECIAL REPORT: Execution devastated Burngreave community
JONATHAN'S execution may have shocked Sheffield but it devastated the Burngreave community the youngster called home.
Parents flocked to public meetings in the wake of the tragedy and spoke of their fears that gun crime could claim even more lives unless the community pulled together, remained strong and did something about it.
To make sure the shooting didn't trigger retribution killings, police flooded the streets with an unprecedented number of officers - and the community vowed to make a stand against violence.
Pastor Andrew Rashford-Hewitt, of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Burngreave, said: "Following the shooting the community felt very saddened and an overwhelming sense of sympathy for the family, and a very strong sense that this could have been one of their own, that it could have happened to anyone.
"We felt it was an attack on our community and there were a number of public meetings where community members expressed concern, asked why it happened, how it happened and what was being done.
"There was a sense that we must not let this happen again, a sense of wanting to work together."
The killing was the third in a matter of months, coming in the wake of the murder of 20-year-old Ibrahim Ilyas in a drugs war, and taxi driver Younis Khan, 53, who was shot dead behind the wheel of his cab, the innocent victim of a revenge attack directed at his son.
Pastor Hewitt added: "The community was saying, 'We have had enough, it's time to make a change and make a difference'.
"It was the third fatal shooting in a short space of time - a young lad on a recreation area, a play area which is supposed to be a safe area for all. Something had to be done."
He said a vigil held in the wake of Jonathan's death, attended by 200 people, proved a respectful affair.
It was followed by a march through the streets of Burngreave five months after the shooting, referred to as Burngreave Bouncing Back, which was also attended by hundreds.
A mentoring scheme for school-aged boys has also been set up.
But less than a year after Jonathan's murder Burngreave was rocked again when a teenager was shot dead at a barber's shop in broad daylight.
Tarek Chaiboub, aged 17, of Castledine Gardens, Wincobank, was killed at Frenchie's on Spital Street on July 11. Witnesses told police it was like a scene from a Wild West movie, as Tarek and his killer both drew guns against each other.
Police are still hunting the teenager's murderer.
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READ MORE OF TODAY'S SPECIAL REPORT
Gun gangs 'glorified'
Gangs recruit six-year-olds
Police combed internet messages for clues to killer
READ MORE OF OUR 'MURDER IN THE PARK' SPECIAL REPORT
'I NEVER DID NOTHING'
Secret life of the boy they called Venomous
I'm blind with wobbly eyes so how could I kill?
Feud that spiralled into all-out war
Help police find killer, say family
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Weather for Preston
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 14 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North west
