374 replies to this topic

[folsom500]

I can't say anything more than everyone has already said about how terrible this event is. So shocking and sad. It is moving to see so many people honoring his memory by gathering at the park last night and this afternoon.

I think that when such a shocking event occurs, it is both natural and appropriate that the community looks for answers and seeks an explanation of what happened. That does not dishonor the young man's memory: if anything, it may give us the knowledge to prevent similar tragedies.

With that in mind, aside from being just sad, I have two thoughts about this situation:

1. I was told by someone who seemed knowledgeable that the police are already quite sure of what occurred, and that a police officer stated they have "seen this before" and it is related to the choking game. --If this is true, it seems unlikely to me that a young teen would go to a
dark, isolated part of the park by himself at night and undertake such a complicated scheme (the ropes, tree climbing, feet-tying, computer, etc.) alone. That would just be a really strange thing to do. This seems more like something someone might try as an experiment with friends. I wonder if the police are seeking other kids who may have been present when this occurred. --That leads to a further question of the moral state of kids who would know about this and not seek help for their friend...

I would not think that the Foslom Police have ANY Knowledge of that type of situation - the choking game- if that is what they are saying - it is a cover up- period- If you look at the web sights related to this game- none that I have seen are perpetrated in a tree - especially with the feet bound up behind the legs- -- That surely has to be a two person situation... IMO

2. What can be done to stop kids from doing the choking game?? I wonder if it is addressed in the schools at all. It seems as dangerous, or more so, than drugs-- apparently kids don't realize that when the time comes to stop being choked, they may not have the conscious faculties to extricate themselves...

I sure hope it is addressed in the schools as well as the Dust Off use - but from what I know of Andre and his fellow students that have posted here- I cannot imagine that he was into this-- and even if he was- the FACTS suggest more than what the police are saying ...

[AmethystHaze]

To ALL: Let me clarify my point.....When I say hide things, I should have said under-reported some crimes in this town or not at all....Why is it splashed over the front news when the Folsom police catch a would be car bandit in my neighborhood by the way, but not when there are other incidences? I completely agree that naming suicide victims is unecessary, however, reporting the deaths as a suicde with anonymity can help the community deal with issues facing our town..This town has many CHPs, police officers and correctional officers. Did anyone read about the high incidences of suicide among the CHP that was reported in the Sacbee? All of you have been reading this forum and saying the name of the person who committed suicide freely with no thought of the family. Why don't you quit talking about how sad it is and go start a hotline for suicide (if this was the form of death) or raise money for the funeral instead of just endlessly wallowing in someone else's grief. Go put some flowers at the site, do something besides just gossiping...AND yes, Folsom is safer than many towns, in Califronia, but not safer than many towns outside of California. It's all relative. When you live in an upper-middle class area, you usually have less crime. Folsom is a great town and I will express my opinion as I see fit and not what is politically correct.

I both agree, yet disagree. There's a saying I heard in US history a few days ago. "It is not the fault of the bad men, but the faults of the innocent who stood by and did nothing." [I refer mostly to the last part of the quote. I'm not saying anyone's bad.] Yes, a lot of us on this forum are giving condolences and whatnot, but let me at least say and explain this.

Not all of us knew A' well. [People have used his name, and his name is in the media anyways, but I'll stick to just A...] But his story has touched us in one way or another. Inspired fear, bubbled up curiousity, creates anxiety, anger... Etc.
People ARE doing a lot for him and his family as is, I'm sure. Few of the people here actually know him personally, so the least we can do is give him our prayers, and hope for the best from here on.
I may be misinterpreting, but the way you say we should all stop "being sad" makes it seem like you're trivializing the emotions a bit. Let sad people be sad, let the worried worry, and let the empathetic/sympathetic feel for him and his family. People can't help but wallow in their emotions in this sorta thing.

State your opinion if you want, that's fine. But tact and consideration are a plus too. Your post makes it sound like it was -wrong- of people to give out their prayers and condolences and hope-for-the-better posts.

And y'know what? I might've TOTALLY misconcieved your post because it's text, for one, with no voice behind it, or I might be a little close minded for all I know because I'm one of those sad people. If I am, then I'm sorry.

[AmethystHaze]

Has any thought been put into how the immmediate community can help ease the families sorrows and/or those who live in Natoma Station? As many of you who have added your comments to this forum are friends of the deceased's family, can you provide any ideas?

Would this be a good time for the neighborhood to get to know one another and begin to form active neighborhoood watch programs and/or support groups? Maybe that would be an avenue for neighbors to watch out for each other and our families as well as provide an outlet to share concerns and thoughts.

Any ideas or thoughts about this idea?

Regarding this, someone tell me or post here if there are any ideas... I can't really think of any. I'm a little too shy to start anything x_x;

[AmethystHaze]

I can't say anything more than everyone has already said about how terrible this event is. So shocking and sad. It is moving to see so many people honoring his memory by gathering at the park last night and this afternoon.

I think that when such a shocking event occurs, it is both natural and appropriate that the community looks for answers and seeks an explanation of what happened. That does not dishonor the young man's memory: if anything, it may give us the knowledge to prevent similar tragedies.

With that in mind, aside from being just sad, I have two thoughts about this situation:

1. I was told by someone who seemed knowledgeable that the police are already quite sure of what occurred, and that a police officer stated they have "seen this before" and it is related to the choking game. --If this is true, it seems unlikely to me that a young teen would go to a dark, isolated part of the park by himself at night and undertake such a complicated scheme (the ropes, tree climbing, feet-tying, computer, etc.) alone. That would just be a really strange thing to do. This seems more like something someone might try as an experiment with friends. I wonder if the police are seeking other kids who may have been present when this occurred. --That leads to a further question of the moral state of kids who would know about this and not seek help for their friend...

2. What can be done to stop kids from doing the choking game?? I wonder if it is addressed in the schools at all. It seems as dangerous, or more so, than drugs-- apparently kids don't realize that when the time comes to stop being choked, they may not have the conscious faculties to extricate themselves...

Let's not develop on the idea of it being a choking game too much. :[ There are different stories. Suicide, homocide [possibly linked to his father working at Folsom Prison, racism, gangs, etc.], choking games, and all sorts of things. No body knows. There's supposed to be an autopsy today, I think...
At first I didn't care WHAT the real cause of his death was; just that he's gone, just like that. But now, I can see why you say "I think that when such a shocking event occurs, it is both natural and appropriate that the community looks for answers and seeks an explanation of what happened. That does not dishonor the young man's memory: if anything, it may give us the knowledge to prevent similar tragedies. ".
Anyways, with that said, I think it's a good idea not to develop on too many ideas til the police do their job.

[FolsomBarb]

An additional sentence has been added to the reporting at the News10.net site.....

"Folsom police are continuing their investigation and ask anyone who may have been in the park between 10 Monday night and the early morning hours of Tuesday to call them at (916) 355-8328."

If any of you on this board fit those criteria, please contact them....or if you know someone who was there during the times they're asking about, relay this phone # to them to call.

Here's the link to where that info came from.....
http://www.news10.ne...x?storyid=25431

[brown]

Would this be a good time for the neighborhood to get to know one another and begin to form active neighborhoood watch programs and/or support groups? Maybe that would be an avenue for neighbors to watch out for each other and our families as well as provide an outlet to share concerns and thoughts.

Any ideas or thoughts about this idea?

I think it's a great idea. One of my friends has a list of names, numbers and emails for most everyone on their block, and I've always thought something like that would be useful. I'd love for my neighbors to at least know my name or know how to contact me in case of emergency.

If anyone on Hopfield/Cassin wants to participate, PM me with your info and I'll get a list going.

[bordercolliefan]

I would not think that the Foslom Police have ANY Knowledge of that type of situation - the choking game- if that is what they are saying - it is a cover up- period- If you look at the web sights related to this game- none that I have seen are perpetrated in a tree - especially with the feet bound up behind the legs- -- That surely has to be a two person situation... IMO
I sure hope it is addressed in the schools as well as the Dust Off use - but from what I know of Andre and his fellow students that have posted here- I cannot imagine that he was into this-- and even if he was- the FACTS suggest more than what the police are saying ...

I can't bear to think that someone would murder a young person here in Folsom. I would rather think it was a terrible accident caused by kids not knowing the dangers of what they were doing.

In any event, the info provided by FolsomBarb seems to imply that the police are thinking the same thing you and I are thinking: it is probable that someone else was present.

I like your posts F500. They are sensible, forthright, and you tell it like it is.

[neighborofmany]

I think it's a great idea. One of my friends has a list of names, numbers and emails for most everyone on their block, and I've always thought something like that would be useful. I'd love for my neighbors to at least know my name or know how to contact me in case of emergency.

If anyone on Hopfield/Cassin wants to participate, PM me with your info and I'll get a list going.

This is great! I am glad to hear there are others interested in this idea. I think the best way to start is to identify a person for each portion of the neighborhood. I am not sure how best to do that but we could start with a few of us and begin generating a complete list. Once we have a list we can divy up the neighborhood and decide how often to meet. I would presume short and convenient meeting times and places would be the best way to keep people engaged. Other ideas may include organizing street potlucks once a year.

I live on Bayline Circle and will be willing to start gathering a contact list for Bayline Circle, Perkins Station Road and the other road/link to Bayline circle near Bigfoot Park (I forgot the street name).

For those of you who are seriously interested in starting or being involved in a neighborhood watch program (involvement can be as simple as receiving updates, invites and notifications etc) you can contact me at sjoparsons@yahoo.com. My name is Stephanie.

[cw68]

I live by the intersection of Ballast and Ashcat and am willing to keep a list for this way...

[bordercolliefan]

Another thought: I hope the Folsom police are capable of investigating a situation like this competently. True crime books are replete with stories of small town police forces who are too proud to call in the FBI or other help -- and end up hopelessly compromising the crime scene. I recall that this is what happened in the Jon Benet case.

We've always been happy with the Folsom police response to minor calls -- but I hope they have some good forensic investigators on staff. Too bad there's no real life Bones...

[Mrs.D]

Another thought: I hope the Folsom police are capable of investigating a situation like this competently. True crime books are replete with stories of small town police forces who are too proud to call in the FBI or other help -- and end up hopelessly compromising the crime scene. I recall that this is what happened in the Jon Benet case.

We've always been happy with the Folsom police response to minor calls -- but I hope they have some good forensic investigators on staff. Too bad there's no real life Bones...

I read in one of the articles that experienced Sacramento police detectives are helping the Folsom police.

[Andrea Vanderpol]

hahahaha!!!! Do you guys really think Folsom is THAT small? So small that our police are incompetent!! Haahaa! This is not some small little town out in the backwoods with Billy Bob as the town sherrif!! haahaa!! You guys are funny.

[tessieca]

...re neighborhood watch...

If anyone on Hopfield/Cassin wants to participate, PM me with your info and I'll get a list going.

This is great! I am glad to hear there are others interested in this idea.

You might not want to reinvent the wheel. NS has a community orgnization NSCO. President is Barbara Leary on Yankton. She already has a well-developed contact list, and she could probably even call a meeting although it's been a long time since we've had one. In fact, our last community party was at Big Foot Park . I'll tell her to read this thread and see if she wants to respond.

[Mrs.D]

The Broadstone area is forming a neighborhood watch. I received a flyer for it in the mail. There is a meeting on Thursday, March 22nd at Round Table Pizza in the Broadstone Shopping area from 7-8pm. The program coordinator is Cynthia Burke (the flyer has her phone number but I feel wierd putting it on here...if you want it PM me).

They are looking for Block Captains that will be a spokesperson for the group, liaison between Folsom Police and the group, organize and arrange their own Neighborhood Watch meetings, maintain a master list of all members and important information abou them, and delegate needed work assignments.

You can find out more at the website: www.broadstoneneighbors.com.

[FolsomBarb]

There was a piece on the 5pm news on KCRA.....addressing all the speculation and rumors swirling around about this tragedy. They interviewed his parents, and said that the interview will be on the 6pm news.