Teenager wanted to escape poverty and drugs that plagued his neighborhood

Allen Thomas grew up seeing Nipsey Hussle driving around his Vermont Slauson neighborhood.

The slain rapper was among those who inspired Allen to strive for more out of life.

In an essay, Allen, a senior at Crenshaw High School, wrote of growing up in poverty and witnessing gang violence.

“Every day I see people deal drugs and others who are there hanging out with their homies doing absolutely nothing,” he wrote.

He wanted to be different, to attend college and maybe even become a doctor, he said. He was killed March 16, three days before his 18th birthday.

Allen stood in a driveway in the 1200 block of West 57th Street when a sedan drove by and someone inside began shooting. He ran, but was struck and later died at a hospital.

Police have no suspects.

A few feet away, his grandmother heard the shots.

Patricia Williams, 73, said she is lost without him.

“He never went to bed without asking, ‘Is there anything I can do for you, Momma Pat?’” Williams said, sitting on the couch in her living room.

Allen was an athlete who enjoyed football, soccer and track. In Williams’ living room, there are scattered belongings of her grandson: his blue backpack, a gray Crenshaw High sweatshirt and his football jerseys.

His father, Regenald Thomas, said when he lost his younger son Dana at age 7 in 2011, Allen was there to keep him afloat.

“He kept me on my toes all the time,” he said.

Allen had sat for his senior portrait. He was set to attend Los Angeles Southwest College in the fall. His acceptance letter is framed on the fireplace mantle.

On a poster board filled with images in a corner of the living room, one photo stands out: Allen smiles shyly next to Hussle, who has his arm wrapped around the boy’s shoulder. His family doesn’t know when the picture was taken.

Hussle would be killed only two weeks after Allen’s death.

Photo: Regenald Thomas and his mother, Patricia Williams, stand where his son, Allen Thomas, was killed in March. Allen was an athlete who enjoyed football, soccer and track. Credit: Mel Melcon, Los Angeles Times

This post was part of a May 1, 2019 article describing violence in South L.A. in the wake of the Nipsey Hussle killing.