A 25-year-old father is dead after witnesses said he was beaten to death. Friends and family believe it was racially motivated.
"I am so sorry. I didn't know him but I tried to go up and talk to him," said Eileen Burke. She did what she could Monday to comfort relatives of Luis Ramirez of Shenandoah.
Police said Ramirez was in some type of fight on Lloyd Street Saturday night. Twelve people were involved. One of the witnesses said it was racially motivated.
"I heard a lot of screaming. A female saying, 'Stop beating him. Stop hitting him.' They said, 'You f--- bitch. Tell your f--- Mexican friends if they don't get out of Shenandoah they're going to be laying next to him,'" Burke recounted.
Arielle Garcia tried to help Ramirez as he lay on the street. "I didn't see the person because we were on the floor, me and my husband, Victor. All I saw was a foot and heard it," Garcia said.
"I think it was ridiculous. It was all for a hate crime. It was all because of the color of his skin and his race. All he was trying to do is walk home to us and they beat him up because he's Mexican," said Ramirez's fiance, Crystal Dillman.
Police confirm they are questioning students from Shenandoah Valley High School.
"They don't realize that sometimes there are consequences," said Shenandoah Police Lieutenant Bill Moyer.
Some believe there is some racial tension in Shenandoah. Crystal Dillman, the mother of Ramirez's three children, knows there's a problem.
"The kids around here are ignorant and they're racists. Everywhere I go with him I have to hear, 'a Spic, dirty Mexican, wetback' and stuff like that and my children have to hear that," Dillman added.
She is still in shock from the incident. "I haven't dealt with it at all, from the time it started, It's hard. How do you deal with it when it deals with someone you love so much?" Dillman asked.
"I am scared. My husband and all my children are Spanish and if it had to do with racial, I have a son and can't let him walk down the street anymore," Garcia added.
Shenandoah's mayor was at the scene of the fight Monday comforting the family. He's calling for more aggressive police patrols and enforcing curfew.
"I will not rest until he gets the justice he deserves. My children have to grow up without their father and his mother loses her son and I lose him, all for nothing," the grieving Dillman said.
The victim's friends and relatives hope police soon make arrests.
 Luis Ramirez died Sunday from injuries he suffered in a fight Saturday night in Shenandoah. Friends and family call the fight racially motivated. |
Police said Ramirez was in some type of fight on Lloyd Street Saturday night. Twelve people were involved. One of the witnesses said it was racially motivated.
"I heard a lot of screaming. A female saying, 'Stop beating him. Stop hitting him.' They said, 'You f--- bitch. Tell your f--- Mexican friends if they don't get out of Shenandoah they're going to be laying next to him,'" Burke recounted.
Arielle Garcia tried to help Ramirez as he lay on the street. "I didn't see the person because we were on the floor, me and my husband, Victor. All I saw was a foot and heard it," Garcia said.
"I think it was ridiculous. It was all for a hate crime. It was all because of the color of his skin and his race. All he was trying to do is walk home to us and they beat him up because he's Mexican," said Ramirez's fiance, Crystal Dillman.
Police confirm they are questioning students from Shenandoah Valley High School.
"They don't realize that sometimes there are consequences," said Shenandoah Police Lieutenant Bill Moyer.
Some believe there is some racial tension in Shenandoah. Crystal Dillman, the mother of Ramirez's three children, knows there's a problem.
"The kids around here are ignorant and they're racists. Everywhere I go with him I have to hear, 'a Spic, dirty Mexican, wetback' and stuff like that and my children have to hear that," Dillman added.
She is still in shock from the incident. "I haven't dealt with it at all, from the time it started, It's hard. How do you deal with it when it deals with someone you love so much?" Dillman asked.
"I am scared. My husband and all my children are Spanish and if it had to do with racial, I have a son and can't let him walk down the street anymore," Garcia added.
Shenandoah's mayor was at the scene of the fight Monday comforting the family. He's calling for more aggressive police patrols and enforcing curfew.
"I will not rest until he gets the justice he deserves. My children have to grow up without their father and his mother loses her son and I lose him, all for nothing," the grieving Dillman said.
The victim's friends and relatives hope police soon make arrests.
