Thread: UB student shot dead one day after graduating

A Bronx man was shot to death early this morning in University Heights, less than a day after graduating from the University at Buffalo in front of parents who came here from out of town.

Javon R. Jackson, 23, was with friends, crossing Main Street between Lisbon and Highgate avenues around 3:15 a.m., when he was shot by a man accompanied by three others, Buffalo police said. He was taken to the Erie County Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Police Commissioner H. McCarthy Gipson, Mayor Byron W. Brown and Chief of Detectives Dennis J. Richards held a news conference this afternoon at the site of the shooting, calling on anyone with information about the killing to call the Police Department's confidential tip line at 847-2255.

"We want people who know anything about this incident to search their hearts and come forward," Brown said. "This should be a joyous occasion for his family, and instead, a mother has to think about funeral arrangements for her son on Mother's Day."

That stretch of Main Street was awash early this morning in college students celebrating graduation and the end of the semester. Police say they believe a number of people may have witnessed the shooting.

Police believe the gunman was with three other men when they walked up behind Jackson. One of the men fired at least two shots, hitting him.

It seems there were a couple of skirmishes in the bars in the area around that time, but police do not yet know whether Jackson or his killer were involved in any of them, or whether the two knew each other.

"It seems something occurred after leaving some of the clubs and establishments on Main Street," Gipson said. "Something may have happened. There was no fight, but words may have been exchanged."

The UB student was shot less than three blocks from the site of an attack in March 2008 that left another UB student paralyzed.

Jackson was Buffalo's 17th homicide victim this year. At this time last year, 15 people had been killed in the city.

Jackson, who lived on Lisbon, was killed less than a block from Main and Highgate, apparently in view of one of the dozens of police surveillance cameras in the city. The commissioner said it's too early to know whether any evidence was caught by the camera.

"We are in the process of examining the tape to see if there is any usable information from the cameras. Of course, you're dealing with ambient light and nighttime," Gipson said. "The best information, of course, would be an eyewitness account."

Jackson's mother was in town from New York City for his graduation, as was his father, who was in from Chicago.

"His father and mother were so proud to have their son graduate from college. Now, they are distraught beyond words, and questioning why anyone would kill their son," said Richards, the chief of detectives.

A moment of silence was held in Jackson's honor at UB's Alumni Arena during the university's general commencement ceremony this morning. Jackson on Saturday received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. He was a member of the Order of the Engineer, the national engineering ethics society.

"The university is deeply saddened by this tragic loss," UB President John B. Simpson said. "Our hearts go out to Javon's family and friends."

http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/667296.html

Kids, please, don't stay in school.