A lesson in being judgmental

I learned a very valuable lesson about being judgmental this week. I had always believed that when I read about a person being involved in a street fight that they were either involved in drugs or weapons, had started the fight or otherwise deserved to be in the altercation.

Well, all that was dispelled when I learned that a young friend of mine was not only involved in a fight but was killed in it on Thanksgiving Day here in Fallbrook.

Nicholas Raymundo was a very helpful, happy, honest, churchgoing, hardworking 23-year-old father of two who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Coming back from a Thanksgiving dinner, a group of what appears to be guys with gang member mentalities decided that Nicholas was going to be their next “entertainment kill.”

The irony is that it was known that the apartment complex where this took place has “two decades of a history of violence,” according to a sheriff’s crime representative.

When I told two additional friends about this they also had stories about other people being beaten up while walking through there.

I am so sad, distraught and in total disbelief that this young man was slain. What can we do so this doesn’t happen again?

Martha Anders