Editor’s note: The following story contains graphic descriptions of violence.
STOCKTON, Calif.—On Jan. 17, 1989, Rob Young happily walked to school sporting a brand-new pair of LA Gear tennis shoes he had received for Christmas. He still remembers how good those shoes felt on his 6-year-old feet.
Later that day, he sat under his desk and wondered if he was going to be in trouble over the blood soaking into his shoes. His best friend and fellow first-grader, Scotty, sat next to him, contemplating the gaping wound in his own leg.
“And that’s when he told me, ‘You know, Robbie, I think we’ve been shot,’” Young said….