Inset: California father Vernon "Wes" Lancaster. Background: The front of the home in Bakersfield, Calif., where Vernon "Wes" Lancaster watched his son get gunned down (KERO).
A California father says he watched his adult son get gunned down at their mailbox by a group of boys who are 12, 13 and 16 years old. The dad was also shot.
"I didn't see my shooter shoot me, but I seen my shooter shoot my son. And it's the most ugliest thing that … won't go away in my mind," said Vernon "Wes" Lancaster about his 53-year-old son, Eric Lancaster, in an interview with local ABC affiliate KERO.
"When my son fell, I reached over as hard as I could to hold his hand and tell him to stay with us, stay with us — and it was too late," Wes Lancaster told the outlet. "It was too late already."
Police say Eric Lancaster was confronted and shot near the mailbox of a home in Bakersfield. The boys who shot him were arrested on July 29 and Aug. 2, with all three being charged with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy and participation in a criminal street gang.
The 12-year-old also faces charges of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and possession of a handgun by a minor. The 16-year-old could be tried as an adult; cops are waiting on prosecutors to file a motion in court to do so, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Describing his son, Wes Lancaster told KERO, "He was a living human being that really didn't see the bad in all people, but he's seen the bad in Bakersfield. He says, 'Dad, I'm glad I didn't grow up here.' But in the long run, it got him anyway when he came back."
Police have not released a motive or details about what led the children to kill Eric Lancaster. His father said he did not know the boys.
A 15-year-old Bakersfield resident told KERO that kids in the area are often forced into gang life.
"It wasn't really a choice," the teen said. "It was more like, it's either you do this stuff or you're not one of the cool kids."
Wes Lancaster hopes the children who took his son's life are held responsible.
"He deserves justice," the grieving dad said.