In Tampa, a father and a city still seek answers a year after boy's slaying

TAMPAAt the edge of the park where kids hurled basketballs, teenagers lifted themselves on pull-up bars and parents strolled along sidewalks with their children, Edward Harris III sat clutching a framed portrait of his son.Beside him lay a heap of rain-battered stuffed animals, plastic flowers and ball caps — a monument to Edward Junior Harris IV, the 14-year-old kid known as E.J.In the fading sunlight of Woodland Terrace Park in east Tampa Tuesday evening, his father, recovering from a recent stroke, spoke softly as he led a semi-circle of neighbors and friends in prayer. He asked for comfort and understanding. He asked for divine change in the lives of young people who resort to a life of crime. And he asked for justice for E.J., who was gunned down one year ago, May 31, 2015, on this patch of dirt at the park's north end."We need the neighborhood," Harris said. "Someone knows. Someone saw what happened."E.J. Harris was the 18th homicide victim in the city last year. His death came at the crest of a wave of gun violence that plagued the city in early 2015, which brought condemnation from public officials and scrutiny by police.By the end of 2015, the death toll stood at 34 homicides, the highest number in the city in 12 years, and most of them remain unsolved. Police have yet to make arrests in 20 of the cases.E.J.'s is one of them. On the anniversary of his death Tuesday, Tampa police once again asked the public to help them solve his murder.At the small memorial gathering Tuesday evening, his father spoke of the fear that many in the neighborhood still feel, and the nightmare he continues to live. "Let the world know, this type of life ain't the right type of life," he said. "You're not supposed to be afraid to bring your kids out to the park."E.J. Harris was days away from finishing classes at Greco Middle School when he was killed. He was known as a good student who liked to goof off. In the fall, he would have started ninth grade at Hillsborough High School. He wanted to try out for the school's basketball team, his father said.He often played hoops with his older brother, DeMarcus, now 17, in Woodland Terrace Park, down the street from their family's home on Diana Street.It had been a tough stretch for both boys. They lost their mother to a heart attack in November 2014.The boys also had endured threats and violence from gangs in their neighborhood. In January 2015, E.J. watched while his brother was forced to fight another boy at gunpoint. In April, a gunman chased E.J. off the basketball courts and through the park, firing shots at him. Police made arrests in both cases.Then, on the afternoon of May 31, E.J. stood with a group of boys on the park's north side. A silver Infiniti sped along Diana Street, police said, then turned around and passed them again. Someone fired a gun from the car, police said, striking E.J.Paramedics rushed E.J. to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.A day after his death, police chased the car they believe was used in the shooting. They arrested the driver, Cacedric Mathis, who later pleaded guilty to fleeing and eluding and was sentenced to two years of community control and probation but has not been charged in E.J.'s death.In the community there was speculation that E.J. died in the midst of a neighborhood gang feud. Others, including E.J.'s father, wondered if he was targeted for cooperating with the police.As the violence peaked in the spring, city officials dreaded what was to come that summer. They extended the operating hours of its recreation centers, giving kids a place to stay until as late as midnight, something they will be doing again this year. Police also stepped up patrols in specific neighborhoods.They also made some arrests in those 2015 cases, including in the death of Richard Newton, a 14-year-old boy who was shot and killed March 21, 2015, at a birthday party in Sulphur Springs. Joseph Huggins, 23, was charged with second-degree murder.By summer's end, the violence ebbed. Exactly why, though, is hard to say, even for the police."I think it's a combination of a lot of things," Mayor Bob Buckhorn said Tuesday. "But it was a scary scenario last summer when we saw those numbers spike."In September, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives offered $15,000 rewards for information leading to an arrest in E.J.'s and three other unsolved 2015 homicides:• Lyfe Coleman, 18, the first murder victim of 2015, who was gunned down outside his Robles Park home on Jan. 5.• Jamylin Turner, 16, who was shot March 14 while he played basketball in the same neighborhood.• Sharon Watkins, a 58-year-old grandmother who was shot through the window of her home while lying in bed on June 27. Police believe she was the unintended target in a gang feud.A standard $3,000 reward through Crime Stoppers was also offered in each case. Yet, they each remained unsolved."We're going to continue to work as hard as we've worked from the moment that crime occurred," Buckhorn said. "I drive past that site probably once every two or three weeks, just to remind me."This year, there have been eight homicides in the city so far. There were 18 by the end of May last year.On Tuesday, the Greco student council organized a tribute to their fallen classmate, adding their signatures to a banner pledging not to resolve conflicts through violence.Melanie Ryerson, 24, who had E.J. in her social studies class, brought the banner bearing more than 300 signatures to Tuesday night's memorial."You couldn't miss that smile and laugh," Ryerson said. "E.J. was the kind of kid everyone loved." Times staff writers Ariana Figueroa and Chris O'Donnell contributed to this report. Contact Dan Sullivan at dsullivan@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3386. Follow @TimesDan. 34 Homicides in 2015 20 Unsolved homicides in 2015 18 Homicides by end of May 2015 6 Homicides by end of May 2016

In Tampa, a father and a city still seek answers a year after boy's slaying

MORE FOR YOU

ONLY AVAILABLE FOR SUBSCRIBERS