Everybody knows the name of George Floyd, and Horace Lorenzo Anderson Sr. wants people to remember his son, too.
Horace Lorenzo Anderson Jr., 19, died June 20 after being shot in the Capitol Hill Occupied Zone, but his father said Wednesday that it took him nearly a week before he could see his son’s body, and that Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and other city officials have yet to contact him.
“Somebody needed to come tell me something because I still don’t know nothing,” said Mr. Anderson, who broke down in tears in an emotional interview with Fox’s Sean Hannity. “And somebody needed to come to my house and knock on my door and tell me something. You know? I don’t know nothing.”
Seattle police may be looking for answers, as well. Protesters within the autonomous zone refused to allow police to reach the victim, throwing bottles and projectiles at officers who tried to enter the zone at 2:30 a.m. after reports of shots fired at Cal Anderson Park.
“Officers attempted to locate a shooting victim but were met by a violent crowd that prevented officers safe access to the victims,” said the Seattle police blotter. “Officers were later informed that the victims, both males, had been transported to Harborview Medical Center by CHOP ’medics.’ “
The 19-year-old Anderson was killed, and DeJuan Young, 33, was injured in the gunfire.
SEE ALSO: Seattle police reclaim autonomous zone after wave of violence, two deaths
“That was my son,” said a sobbing Mr. Anderson. “He got killed up here, and [they said] he’s just a 19-year-old — no, that’s Horace Lorenzo Anderson. That’s my son. And I loved him, and that was my son.”
He said he went to the hospital and was told he couldn’t see his son, so he tried to find a police officer.
“I’m looking for a detective to tell me something, and when I get there, there’s nobody. I mean, the hospital was blank,” Mr. Anderson said. “There’s silence.”
He said he wasn’t sure the victim was actually his son until the following Thursday, when “I got to finally see him, and then in my heart, I knew it was my son now. This is my son,” he said, adding, “These were kids. They should have stopped this a long time ago.”
Horace Lorenzo Anderson Sr. tells @SeanHannity that he hasn’t heard from @MayorJenny, @JayInslee, @SeattlePD, or anyone in power after his 19-year-old son by the same name was murdered inside CHOP.
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 2, 2020
Hannity was all of us in this moment as he was clearly stunned. pic.twitter.com/TULEUazYMa
This interview with Mr. Anderson is HEARTBREAKING - the trauma and pain is inconceivable…. God be with his family. What is coming of us? https://t.co/44wzVdLliW
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) July 2, 2020
Seattle police reclaimed the CHOP region early Wednesday, more than three weeks after protesters took over a six-block area around the East Precinct and barricaded it from officers, vowing to remain until their demands were met.
Mr. Anderson told KIRO-TV in Seattle on Tuesday that the autonomous zone needed to go.
“This doesn’t look like a protest to me no more,” he said. “That just looks like they just took over and said we can take over whenever we want to.”
Two Black teens were killed during the occupation: Horace Anderson and 16-year-old Antonio Mays Jr., who died in an early Monday shooting that also sent a 14-year-old to the hospital in critical condition, according to the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog.
Mr. Anderson said that his son would be buried Thursday. “I’m numb. I’m still numb today. I’ve got to bury my son tomorrow,” he said.
Andre Taylor, a Seattle community organizer who heads Not This Time, sat next to Mr. Anderson during the interview.
“Hannity, thank you for having us on your show. You were gracious to us, you were kind,” Mr. Taylor said. “We appreciate you.”
A visibly affected Hannity called it one of the most wrenching interviews he had ever conducted.
“I’ve been doing radio 31 years, TV 25 years, and I think that the message that both of you have conveyed tonight is probably more powerful than every show I’ve done combined,” he said. “And I hope that so-called leaders and elected officials listen because every Mom and Dad hears you. I hear you.”
The Seattle autonomous zone was formed in reaction to the May 25 death of Floyd, 46, a Black man who died after a White Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. The officer and three others have been charged in his death.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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