Mom Overcome By Grief At Funeral For Slain San Francisco Teen
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)- Andy Zeng's mother was overcome by grief Saturday morning. Her son's funeral service was a traditional Buddhist ceremony at the Halsted N. Gray- Carew & English funeral home on Sutter Street in San Francisco, but was delayed when she broke down at the sight of his casket.
"She is totally devastated," said family spokesperson Marlene Tran.
The 16-year old was found shot to death in San Francisco's Silver Terrace neighborhood two weeks ago.
The three-hour service, scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., was attended by more than 100 people; about half of those in attendance were teenage friends of Zeng, who was a sophomore at Thurgood Marshall Academic High School.
KCBS' Anna Duckworth Reports:
A 15-year old friend of Zeng's is being charged with his murder and an 18-year old is being charged as an accessory for allegedly helping douse Zeng's body with gasoline after Zeng was shot.
The 15-year old told investigators the shooting inside of the home was accidental. Last Thursday at a news conference held at the Asian Pacific American Community Center, Zeng's father told reporters through an interpreter that his son's death was no accident and that he thought his murder was pre-meditated.
Mourner Mattie Scott attended the funeral but did not know the Zeng family. In a non-related incident, her son was shot to death 15 years ago in San Francisco while trying to break up a fight between two friends.
She began to weep as the service got underway.
"This kid was not just this family's kid, but he's my kid too and that's the way we should all feel," said an empathetic Scott.
"It's sad, but I wanted to show my face to show them that we too care about what happened," Scott added.
Zeng's family has set up a relief fund to help cover the funeral costs at Cathay Bank where you can make donations under Andrew Zeng's name.
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