Last night I was in bed scrolling through twitter on the phone (as one does) before shuteye. I came across a tweet on the KTVU account detailing the suspect linked to recent shootings in the Potrero Hill neighborhood. Reading the name and looking at the picture, the immediate thought came to my head: “I think I went to middle school with this guy!?”
This morning I message the lone classmate from middle school that I still call a close friend today. “Didn’t we go to middle school with this guy?” Said friend wasn’t sure, so I dug up the 8th grade yearbook. Sure enough, there the suspect was, right amongst former classmates I vaguely remember. It’s been two decades since middle school!
It’s kind of surreal to realize that I went to middle school with an alleged murderer. It’s just not something you think about back then, obviously. The childhood years are full of hope and goals. Even for students who aren’t academically gifted or behaviorally sound. You kind of expect everyone to figure it out eventually. The system sure gives people plenty of chances. Can’t get into a regular four-year university? There’s redemption at a junior college.
In the yearbooks, they never poll for most likely to murder someone. Not only because that would be wildly inappropriate - even as a joke - but also it’s not something you imagine would ever happen. You wish only the best for your school peers. I guess ultimately it’s jarring to see the divergent path of someone like myself and the former classmate who is now a suspect in a murder case. What were the influences and consequences that lead him down the dark path?
An intensely traumatic childhood, most likely.
It fits the decor of the neighborhood.