Lonnie McCowan woke up to a missed phone call.
It was the morning after a rivalry game against Ventura when the Oxnard High football coach checked his phone. One of his former players had tried to reach him at around 3 a.m.
A pit began to form in McCowan’s stomach.
The coach and the rest of the Oxnard football community found out in the following hours that former Yellowjackets football captain Jonathan “JJ” Vasquez, 18, of Santa Paula had been shot the night of Aug. 28 and was in critical condition.
Vasquez, the Oxnard football team’s lineman of the year last fall, was on his break at Five Guys restaurant at The Collection in Oxnard when he was struck by a stray bullet.
He has been attending classes at Ventura College this fall while working at the
restaurant — his first job, according to family.
“(JJ) was literally doing everything right,” McCowan said. “He is a great student, he is an athlete, he is working, he is at a job, just taking a break. … Things like this don’t always make sense. The reality is, they don’t.”
Police officials said that, according to their investigation, Vasquez was not the intended target of the shooting, but that “a round was fired during an altercation“ outside the restaurant between an Oxnard male, 16, who is suspected of being the shooter, and two other males.
Officers served a search warrant on the 500 block of East First Street and investigators, SWAT and K-9 unit officers arrested the 16-year-old as he left his home, police said.
The teen was booked into the Juvenile Justice Center on suspicion of attempted murder. The motive for the shooting and why the altercation began is unknown.
As of Sept. 8, about 1,200 people had donated a total of $72,388 to help pay for Vasquez’s medical expenses via a GoFundMe set up by his aunt, Laura Cervantes.
“We are forever grateful to the strangers who provided life-saving treatment, first responders on the scene, his medical team, and a community that has surrounded our family with love and support,” a statement from the Vasquez family posted on the GoFundMe read. “We hope everyone affected by this tragedy, whether it’s family, friends, or those who witnessed it, finds the support they need. As JJ’s mom said, we’ve always had a village raising these kiddos, but now it’s clear we have a community.”
High school football coaches across Oxnard and beyond shared the link, including the Ventura County Football Coaches Association.
“It just speaks to him,” McCowan said of the fundraising effort. “Everybody kind of rallied behind it. Even now, I get emotional thinking about it. People don’t know the type of impact they have, how they impact other people’s lives. Oftentimes, you may never know. You never find that out.”
Oxnard faced Hueneme on Sept. 4 at home in the first football game since the shooting that hospitalized their former teammate.
Linebacker Abel Madrigal ran on the field with Vasquez’s No. 60 jersey draped over his shoulders. Cheerleaders wore shirts emblazoned with his name and the No. 60. Players wrote messages on their pads to honor their former teammate.
“He is the kindest man you will ever meet,” senior receiver Nicholas Shannon said. “When you think of what a Yellowjacket is — JJ was that guy. He was always keeping it positive. He was a great leader to our linemen, even to me.”
Vasquez’s jersey rested on the home bench, beside the Centennial Cup trophy, watching over the Yellowjackets’ 28-26 come-from-behind victory — their first win in 22 months.
“I know JJ will be proud, when he finds out,” Shannon said.
Anyone with information on the incident should contact Detective Diego Estrada at 805-385-8291 or diego.estrada@oxnardpd.org.
Dominic Massimino is a staff writer for The Star. He can be reached at dominic.massimino@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcsdominic on Twitter and Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ex-Oxnard High football captain shot as bystander gets support
