In
Search of Closure By Dave McCleary The mother of a young man who was stabbed to death a few months ago says she will not rest until her son's killers are brought to justice. Angelik Mitchell and supporters have been standing, holding signs and making their presence felt on the corner of Salina and Jefferson Streets since a week after the August 15th incident when her 20-year-old son, Anthony Lewis; was stabbed to death. According to reports, more than 200 people were involved in the incident which took place during the Latino Festival and commenced down Salina Street. But police say no one has come forward to identify a suspect in the case. Mitchell says she was told by Syracuse police that her son's death may have happened in retaliation for another murder. "What the police were saying was that a few months ago I guess somebody got stabbed at a club - a Latino - by somebody who was African American; I don't know," Mitchell said. "They were trying to say this is retaliation. My son didn't stab anyone, and I told them that. He was a good kid. His name never came up in any crime. What happened to him wasn't right." Mitchell has been conducting an investigation of her own regarding the August incident. She said her son and 12 other people were chased down Salina Street by a mob of more than 150 people. "I want to make it clear that they were not trying to fight. They ran, they ran," she said. "They just got caught. They were surrounded and they had no choice but to fight." Mitchell said her son was critically injured during the altercation at Fayette and Salina Streets. "He was stabbed and he ran a whole block with a hole in his heart and collapsed at Jefferson and Salina Streets," she recounted. "This to me is a hate crime because when you retaliate you go after someone who did something to you, not a totally uninvolved person." Mitchell says she doesn't understand why police haven't made any arrests yet in the case but is optimistic that an arrest will be made soon. "People have come to us and basically told us who committed the crime, she said." She said that she is aware of multiple text messages and on-line conversations regarding the identity of her son's killers. "My son was a great kid. He would have given anybody the shirt off his back," Mitchell told CNYV. "I remember a friend of his when they were younger his friend couldn't afford sneakers so my son would go out and get sneakers that were too big for his own feet so that his friend could wear them," she continued. "And when it was time for him to wear them he would just stuff them with tissue. That's the kind of person he was," she said. "He
did not live the street life. He was athletic. He was involved in all kinds of
sports. He played football, he played baseball. He even coached the younger kids,"
she reminisced. "That's why his death is so devastating to us. It's just
unbelievable that this happened to him. In the meantime, she and her supporters continue to take a stand on the corner of Salina and Jefferson Streets, holding signs that read "Who killed my son?" "We want justice for Anthony Lewis," "Honk if you want justice," and "End hate crimes." "We're
out there every Saturday-the day my son was killed and every Thursday-the day
of his funeral," she said. "We plan to be out there until my son's killers
are brought to justice."
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