Shooting death in Rainier Valley stokes fear of retaliation

SEATTLE -- Angie Smith came to the Rainier Valley in 1975. She feels she did right by her four kids who are now all grown.

She believes Seattle's trouble confronting violence took the life of one of those children.

“It’s like I lost something and I’ll never be able to find it again,” Angie said.

Seattle police say Angie's son Shamar was one of two men shot Sunday night at the Rainier Playfield. The other man survived.

Shamar, 32, did not.

“This is not a movie. This is reality and this is what happens,” Smith said.

Her reality is shaken now, piercing her semi-retirement in Arizona. On Wednesday, she was able to eke out a smile and a joke of the tough love leaving her son behind.

“I remember he said, ‘Mom, you’re really gonna leave me here?’ And I’m like, you’re a grown man. I’m like, you’re going to be OK. You’ve got family. You’ve got friends,” Angie recalls.

Angie said her son was a fan of the old school band Earth, Wind, and Fire, and had a warm heart, at times brokering peace as kids in the area renewed old grudges.

He had outgrown it and she thinks that may have been why he was hit Sunday night.

“He wasn’t a target, but as a retaliation against other people,” Angie said.

There's concern among police that there will be retaliation for this, too. Angie wants that cycle to end. It's taken her boy -- who became a man.

“This city has a stronghold on our youth. And they’re not going to their full potential. They’re not operating with a purpose,” she said