younggiftedandblack
08-27-2004, 09:57 AM
Police hunt suspects in slaying at mall
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Aug-27-Fri-2004/photos/news1.jpg
Carmelito Masangkay never knew how precious a photograph could be until Tuesday, when his teenage son died.
Now the grieving father yearns for whatever comfort a portrait of his 17-year-old boy, Lee, might bring.
"We're really not fond of taking pictures, so we don't have many of Lee," Masangkay lamented.
Friends visited the Masangkay home on Thursday, offering condolences and donating dozens of pictures that will form a commemorative collage of the Silverado High School student.
Lee Masangkay and a date had gone shopping Saturday night at Boulevard Mall, and he was attacked in the food court by several young Asian males, according to Las Vegas police.
Lee died Tuesday at University Medical Center from his injuries, and as of late Thursday afternoon authorities still had no suspects.
Sgt. Ken Hefner on Wednesday said police believed the violence was gang-related and that Masangkay and those who smashed him with chairs were members of rival gangs. Carmelito Masangkay was outraged by that characterization of his son.
Hefner on Thursday said police still believe the suspects are gang members, but not Masangkay.
"He was not a gang member," the boy's father said in a soft-spoken voice. "He was a good person, a good son."
Carmelito Masangkay said his son was active in the United Methodist Church.
"Lee is a person that will not do any harm to another person. He can go in a place and in five minutes have a friend there. I don't know why this happened. He must have been in the wrong place at the wrong time," the father said.
The teen's female companion witnessed the mayhem, but Hefner wouldn't discuss her statements to police about what sparked the fight.
Hefner also would not comment on whether the fatal melee was captured on video surveillance tape.
Carmelito Masangkay said he and his wife had gone to the mall, near Maryland Parkway and Desert Inn Road, with their teenage son.
Inside the mall, the teen left his parents so he could meet a new female friend and hang out with her, Carmelito Masangkay said.
The father noticed some commotion and headed to the food court.
"I saw a guy lift a chair, hit him, and throw a chair at him," he recalled. "He was in pain. He was bleeding profusely. He was conscious until we reached the hospital. When they took him to the trauma center, they sedated him because he was moving and started to have seizures. And he never. ..."
The father of three stopped before finishing the thought.
Lee Masangkay, who practiced tae kwon do, sang in the church choir and volunteered at car-wash fund-raisers, died for reasons that his father may never comprehend.
"My sympathy is with the kids who did that; they have no future for their lives," Carmelito Masangkay said. "Hide? They cannot hide. The police will get them.
"If I'm the parents of those kids, I would be devastated. It's better to see my son die instead of killing another person. I cannot take that."
http://klas.static.worldnow.com/images/2226183_BG1.jpg
17-year-old Lee Masangkay
http://klas.static.worldnow.com/images/2226183_BG2.jpg
Leonida Masangkay, Lee's mother
http://klas.static.worldnow.com/images/2226183_BG3.jpg
Carmelito Masangkay, Lee's father
Family Wants Killers to Come Forward
(Aug. 26) -- The family of a murder victim talked Eyewitness News Thursday. Their son, Lee, was beaten to death during a fight over the weekend at the Boulevard Mall.
"It has devastated our lives, it's not going to be the same anymore. It hurts, it hurts so bad that this thing happened," Lee's mother said.
The beating happened in the mall's food court in a fight with members of an Asian gang. But the victim's family and police say he was not a gang member.
The parents of 17-year-old Lee Masangkay drove him to the Boulevard Mall. They sat in the food court and watched and waited for their son, who was meeting a new girlfriend there. Minutes later, he was beaten to death and they don't know why. They want the killers to come forward.
Leonida Masangkay, Lee's mother, said, "It was really hard because we were there and we were not able to protect him from these boys."
A mother's pain and guilt, wishing she could have helped her 17-year-old son Lee who was beaten by a group of gang members inside the Boulevard Mall. "I feel the pain because my son is bleeding you know."
Carmelito Masangkay, Lee's father, said, "He was hitting my son like this and throwing the chair like that.
"I approached him at once, cover his bleeding face and I ask him what happened, what happened. He was not able to answer me," Leonida Masangkay said.
The suspects ran away. Lee was taken to the hospital. His parents thought he would just need stitches, but he had a seizure in the ambulance. Three days later, the teen was brain dead.
"He never got into a fight at school. He never had a fight with kids," Carmelito Masangkay said.
Again, the Masangkay's say -- and police confirm -- Lee was not a gang member. Lee was an active member of the church. He had joined the choir and had started leading liturgy.
Lee's father, said, "Just wants to be a pastor someday." It's difficult to understand through tears, but Masangkay said his son told him he wanted to be a pastor someday.
And Lee's mother added, "It's going to be different. It's not going to be the same because we're not complete anymore."
A source with Metro police says the reason Lee may have been confronted by the gang was because of a girl. There are many security cameras inside the Boulevard Mall, but police will not confirm or deny that they have surveillance video of the fight or the suspects.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Aug-27-Fri-2004/photos/news1.jpg
Carmelito Masangkay never knew how precious a photograph could be until Tuesday, when his teenage son died.
Now the grieving father yearns for whatever comfort a portrait of his 17-year-old boy, Lee, might bring.
"We're really not fond of taking pictures, so we don't have many of Lee," Masangkay lamented.
Friends visited the Masangkay home on Thursday, offering condolences and donating dozens of pictures that will form a commemorative collage of the Silverado High School student.
Lee Masangkay and a date had gone shopping Saturday night at Boulevard Mall, and he was attacked in the food court by several young Asian males, according to Las Vegas police.
Lee died Tuesday at University Medical Center from his injuries, and as of late Thursday afternoon authorities still had no suspects.
Sgt. Ken Hefner on Wednesday said police believed the violence was gang-related and that Masangkay and those who smashed him with chairs were members of rival gangs. Carmelito Masangkay was outraged by that characterization of his son.
Hefner on Thursday said police still believe the suspects are gang members, but not Masangkay.
"He was not a gang member," the boy's father said in a soft-spoken voice. "He was a good person, a good son."
Carmelito Masangkay said his son was active in the United Methodist Church.
"Lee is a person that will not do any harm to another person. He can go in a place and in five minutes have a friend there. I don't know why this happened. He must have been in the wrong place at the wrong time," the father said.
The teen's female companion witnessed the mayhem, but Hefner wouldn't discuss her statements to police about what sparked the fight.
Hefner also would not comment on whether the fatal melee was captured on video surveillance tape.
Carmelito Masangkay said he and his wife had gone to the mall, near Maryland Parkway and Desert Inn Road, with their teenage son.
Inside the mall, the teen left his parents so he could meet a new female friend and hang out with her, Carmelito Masangkay said.
The father noticed some commotion and headed to the food court.
"I saw a guy lift a chair, hit him, and throw a chair at him," he recalled. "He was in pain. He was bleeding profusely. He was conscious until we reached the hospital. When they took him to the trauma center, they sedated him because he was moving and started to have seizures. And he never. ..."
The father of three stopped before finishing the thought.
Lee Masangkay, who practiced tae kwon do, sang in the church choir and volunteered at car-wash fund-raisers, died for reasons that his father may never comprehend.
"My sympathy is with the kids who did that; they have no future for their lives," Carmelito Masangkay said. "Hide? They cannot hide. The police will get them.
"If I'm the parents of those kids, I would be devastated. It's better to see my son die instead of killing another person. I cannot take that."
http://klas.static.worldnow.com/images/2226183_BG1.jpg
17-year-old Lee Masangkay
http://klas.static.worldnow.com/images/2226183_BG2.jpg
Leonida Masangkay, Lee's mother
http://klas.static.worldnow.com/images/2226183_BG3.jpg
Carmelito Masangkay, Lee's father
Family Wants Killers to Come Forward
(Aug. 26) -- The family of a murder victim talked Eyewitness News Thursday. Their son, Lee, was beaten to death during a fight over the weekend at the Boulevard Mall.
"It has devastated our lives, it's not going to be the same anymore. It hurts, it hurts so bad that this thing happened," Lee's mother said.
The beating happened in the mall's food court in a fight with members of an Asian gang. But the victim's family and police say he was not a gang member.
The parents of 17-year-old Lee Masangkay drove him to the Boulevard Mall. They sat in the food court and watched and waited for their son, who was meeting a new girlfriend there. Minutes later, he was beaten to death and they don't know why. They want the killers to come forward.
Leonida Masangkay, Lee's mother, said, "It was really hard because we were there and we were not able to protect him from these boys."
A mother's pain and guilt, wishing she could have helped her 17-year-old son Lee who was beaten by a group of gang members inside the Boulevard Mall. "I feel the pain because my son is bleeding you know."
Carmelito Masangkay, Lee's father, said, "He was hitting my son like this and throwing the chair like that.
"I approached him at once, cover his bleeding face and I ask him what happened, what happened. He was not able to answer me," Leonida Masangkay said.
The suspects ran away. Lee was taken to the hospital. His parents thought he would just need stitches, but he had a seizure in the ambulance. Three days later, the teen was brain dead.
"He never got into a fight at school. He never had a fight with kids," Carmelito Masangkay said.
Again, the Masangkay's say -- and police confirm -- Lee was not a gang member. Lee was an active member of the church. He had joined the choir and had started leading liturgy.
Lee's father, said, "Just wants to be a pastor someday." It's difficult to understand through tears, but Masangkay said his son told him he wanted to be a pastor someday.
And Lee's mother added, "It's going to be different. It's not going to be the same because we're not complete anymore."
A source with Metro police says the reason Lee may have been confronted by the gang was because of a girl. There are many security cameras inside the Boulevard Mall, but police will not confirm or deny that they have surveillance video of the fight or the suspects.