Snapshot of a doomed life: A boy's self-fulfilled prophecy
June 27, 1996
Web posted at: 1:15 a.m. EDT
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Nothing about Ennis Beley's life was ordinary. At 12, he hinted that he would die young. At 13, he was a hot shot photographer whose portraits of life in Los Angeles adorned the walls of celebrities, including Vice President Al Gore. At 15, he was dead, gunned down as he walked through the streets of his crime-ridden south central neighborhood.
Beley's death last week was no surprise, least of all, perhaps, to the boy himself, who suggested in a 1992 BBC documentary that his end would come soon.
"Hope I live to 25 years or more," he had said, an unusual statement for a 12-year-old. But Beley had been a gang member since he was 8 years old; he had been exposed to the violence of street crimes. When he made that prediction, he was, probably to his mind, just being realistic.
But the tragedy of Beley's short life is that it could have ended differently. And the irony of his story lies in the fact that so many tried to help ... and failed.
Beley: The success story
The producers of the BBC documentary -- made in the aftermath of the 1992 Los Angeles riots -- were so impressed with Beley that they took him under their wing, encouraging and guiding his fledgling venture into photography.
They discovered that Beley had a wonderful gift: The ability to capture a slice of the world he lived in. "It was a world full of danger, distrust, and fear," said producer Alison Pollet.
Soon, Beley was a celebrity in his own right. "I'm kind of special, but everybody is special in a certain way," he said.
Unlike some of his friends in the neighborhood, Beley never lacked for love. Howard Glenn, who took Beley into his home when he was just a baby, adored him. So did the documentary producers and the camera crews.
Some tried to help him by sending him far away, to a boarding school where there were no gangs, no graffiti. His time at the highly respected Piney Woods Country Life school in Jackson, Mississippi, didn't last long, though. This spring, Beley was suspended for getting into fights.
He returned home, to the streets of L.A.
Beley: The tragedy
Last week, it was seemingly just another day in the life of Ennis Beley. Sporting a bright red sweatshirt, Beley was walking through the neighborhood, when a car pulled up in front of him and a passenger with a gun jumped out, riddling Beley with bullets.
Maybe Beley was simply in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Maybe it was inevitable, just like he had said in 1992.
Pollet says there are other teen-agers like Beley who need attention -- before they get killed.
"Now the media's back and they're calling us every day and they want Ennis' story ... They want to use him again and I'm sorry. I hope people think about these kids when they're alive."
CNN Correspondent Anne McDermott contributed to this report.
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