Special Report

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) ― It's invading our communities and killing our kids.  A WJZ investigation reveals it's not confined to the city--the suburbs are the next frontier.  Mary Bubala speaks with the parents of a young man whose death proves the danger is real.

Chaos struck in a suburban neighborhood.

"It's not as safe as people think it is," said Jenny Adkins.

Christopher Jones lay lifeless, beaten to death not far from his Crofton home.

"It shouldn't happen.  It just should not happen," said Christopher's dad, Dave Jones.

Police say gang members cornered Christopher on his bike.

"They beat him.  He died trying to get away," Jones said.  "We thought we did everything right."

A month before the deadly attack, Christopher's parents pulled him out of Arundel High School, fearing he was caught in a dispute between rival gangs, which he did not belong to.

"We did [know Christopher was being bullied].  That's actually why we pulled him out of the school because the administrators told us his life was in danger," said Adkins, Christopher's mom.

Adkins is now suing the Anne Arundel County school system, claiming they didn't do enough to protect her son.

"They completely failed us," she said.  "They could have gotten the police involved, they could have gotten the parents involved, they going have gotten the gang task force involved."

"I don't think people understand how big of a problem it is.  It's not just in the inner cities anymore; it's where we live, in the suburbs," Jones said.

By all accounts, Jenny and Dave were hands-on parents who kept very close watch over Christopher.  They knew who he was with and where he was almost all the time.  The frustrating part: it wasn't enough.

"We hounded him every day, made sure he was where he was supposed to be," Jones said.

Christopher's death is awakening this middle class community to see gangs are thriving here.  A local "gang insider" says many suburban communities are in denial.

"It's the pop culture of the day.  There's a lot of peer pressure around this.  We know inner city kids do it for a maybe sense of family.  A lot of suburban kids do it because they want to fit in," said gang expert Billy Stanfield.

And just like in the city, gang violence in the suburbs claims innocent lives.  Christopher's parents say people need to wake up from their self-absorbed lives.

"If they see something that's going on in the neighborhood, stop and get involved.  Don't drive by because you are going to be late for your nail appointment.  Stop and get involved because you can save someone's life," Adkins said.

"They need to stalk their kids," Jones said.  "See their Myspace page, know who their friends are."

That's exactly the advice Stanfield gives.  After serving time in federal prison for trafficking drugs, he founded a program to help kids stay out of gangs.

"Ask themselves the question: This could happen to my child, too.  Let me pay more attention to my child, who he's hanging out with, the type of music he's listening to, the video he's listening to," Stanfield said.

And everyone touched by this loss agrees communities are the key to combating gangs.

"Parents around here have to realize it could be their kid just as easily as it was our kid," Adkins said.

Anne Arundel County schools cannot comment on the case because of the lawsuit. 

The 16-year-old charged with throwing the punch that killed Christopher Jones will be tried as an adult.  A 14-year-old is also charged.

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