Otis Rayjon Williams’ mom pleads for information in fatal LA shooting
Francine Brazil is still looking for answers.
A coldblooded killer shot her 14-year-old son, Otis Rayjon Williams, as he walked to a grocery store in Los Angeles, and on Wednesday the teen’s distraught mother pleaded for someone to come forward with information.
In a press conference with L.A. County Sheriff’s homicide detectives, Francine Brazil said her son was shot three times in the chest and was left for dead in an alley the night of July 3, 2020.
“My husband was on the other side of the alley heading that way because we heard the gunshots,” said Brazil as she choked back tears. “He started calling Otis on his cell phone and he didn’t answer. … I had just seen him, helped him with his shoestrings on his shoes and told him to get a jacket on because he was going to be outside. I just want to know why? Why would you do that? He was only 14. You may not realize that when you did it, but you shouldn’t be going out shooting people anyway.”
L.A. County Sheriff’s Department homicide detectives said they’ve hit a roadblock and asked the public’s help for any information that could lead to an arrest.
Lt. Derrick Alfred said an unidentified driver in a blue Dodge Challenger drove up to Williams, who was walking in an alley between East 98th and 99th streets in the Florence-Firestone neighborhood.
“The driver of the Challenger for whatever reason, pulled up, reached out the window of his of the driver’s side of the car, and he fired several rounds striking Otis,” Alfred said. The car had no license plates, but has a distinct broad color stripe that runs along the hood, roof and trunk.
The teen was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Detectives said Williams might have been mistaken for an adult since the boy recently went through a growth spurt before his death and stood at 6-foot-2.
“He easily could be mistaken for a man walking in the evening,” Alfred said. “It was kind of a dark area right there, so at this point, that’s why we’re looking for reasons as well. And we’re trying to figure out why somebody would have done this, and it seems to us that it may be a case of Otis being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Brazil said her son was the youngest of her seven kids and was a “good boy,” who wanted to work as a cashier at a grocery store when he grew up.
“Like I said, he was he was doing the right thing and I just don’t understand how this could happen,” Brazil said. “My main thing is, why? I can’t bring him back. He’s gone. Why did you just pull up on my son, shoot him up in the chest three times like that? He was just a kid. Why would you do that?”
“I just hope the public might know something and come forward,” she said.
Authorities are offering a $10,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest.
