Manatee leaders urge parents to step up

BRADENTON - Jazmine Thompson was already looking at colleges. As a cheerleader and an A-student, the 17-year-old had her pick of them.

"She was a good kid. She was the child all parents dream of," says her mother, Rachelle James.

But those dreams were shattered Friday Night. Jazmine was gunned down after a football game. Deputies say it was another teenager who pulled the trigger.

"It needs to stop. These kids with the guns. I don't care if it's black, white, Mexican -- whoever they are. Stop the violence. Stop it now," says her aunt Shawn Turner.

Elected officials held a press conference Tuesday, vowing to do more, and they're pleading with parents to do the same.

"I want you to step in and know what your kids are doing, and step in early, because when they start being a teenager, I've got news for you, you're late. You're way late," said Manatee County Commissioner Gwendolyn Brown.

Just three weeks ago, Jazmine was at the funeral of her friend DeJuan Williams. He was a Bayshore track star, who died trying to protect his little sister. Deputies say he was gunned down by yet another teenager. Jazmine's mother had been there for DeJuan's. Now it's his mother, who's consoling her.

"Kids go out looking for that attention, looking for that affection that they're parents can't give them. But I did that. I gave Jazmine everything. She didn't have to go out looking for nothing," James said,

Daniel Williams, 18, is charged with second-degree murder in Jazmine's death. The Manatee County Sheriff calls him a bully with a violent past and a juvenile record.

"He took her away from us. He took her away. It's not worth it," said Jazmine's aunt.

Outside her home, Jazmine's name and memory are still very much alive. Now her family just wants to know why. How could this happen?

"Tell the truth of what she wants to hear, because she knows and unfortunately she's not here to tell us," says her mother.