Parents of a 14-year-old murder victim killed on Christmas want answers

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - “He was a wonderful kid. He wanted to save the world,” says John Alfred.

14-year-old Jamere Alfred couldn’t wait for Christmas day. He spent the night at a family members home in New Orleans East, and he called his dad Christmas morning.

“He was anxious about what he was going to get for Christmas. He called me back and he was elated because he got everything he asked for. He said, daddy, I’m blessed and it was actually the last time I talked to him,” says John Alfred.

Christmas night, Jamere took a ride with his two cousins to Walgreens at Lake Forest and Bullard Boulevards.

“I was out of town, and I got a call around 9:45 p.m. on Christmas night that there had been an accident,” says the victim’s mom, Laricha Rousell.

A quick run to Walgreens turned tragic when someone opened fire on the three cousins.

Jamere was shot twice. His two cousins were unharmed.

As his mom desperately tried to get a flight back home, Jamere’s dad rushed to the scene.

“A police officer came over and said there was a third person that went to UMC, but something caught my attention. It was a blocker they use to mark a person who died on the scene. I asked so what was that for. He didn’t answer me. I jumped in the truck and went to UMC,” says Alfred.

At UMC, he learned his son, shot in the head and jaw, had died.

“When you have a child that isn’t giving any trouble, that’s doing all the right things, that has a mother and father and an entire village of people caring for him, getting murdered. Now, how do you go from there to there,” says Alfred.

The teen was a virtual student of Martin Behrman Charter School. He was a talented musician who played the drums for ‘Roots of Music’ and loved to play football.

His parents describe him as a loving, caring child.

“He couldn’t understand why bad things would happen. He would literally give the shoes off his feet,” says Alfred.

It’s a loss few can even imagine. Jamere’s mom and dad want answers.

“Somebody knows something, and we want the NOPD to tell us what happened,” says Rousell.

“Because it’s a kid, and it has to stop. The violence has to stop in New Orleans,” says Alfed.

Christmas for this family will never be the same, and they say nothing about what happened makes sense to them. Now, they want justice for their son.

“Somebody needs to be held accountable,” says Alfred.

“You’re talking about a life that was literally taken for no reason,” says Rousell.

Police need the public’s help to solve this case. If you know anything, you’re asked to call Crimestoppers at (504) 822-1111.

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