Mother of Shreveport’s Clinton 'Three' Johnson has message after her teen son's shooting death

There was plenty to like about Clinton “Three” Johnson III.  

The 15-year-old budding Woodlawn basketball star was fond of Little Debbie snack cakes and enjoyed riding his motor bike to the Line Avenue Fina station for a Zebra cake washed down by an orange soda. He could eat 20 of his mother’s chicken wings in one sitting.

He was the kind of outgoing, personable and the kind of teenager others wanted to be around.

That was until Oct. 11 when his life was snuffed out in a shooting that remains unsolved. 

“I had picked him up at practice and we had been home about 20 minutes when he decided to go for a snack,” Sharen Johnson said. “He borrowed a friend’s motor bike and took off. Then I heard the shots – kinda ta, ta, ta, ta – four shots. Then I heard a car squeal off, then back up and some more shots.”

More:Cedar Grove shooting death sparks rally at Shreveport’s Spectrum Church

Another Shreveport-area teenager, who had once gotten sick to his stomach before preaching a sermon in his church during Youth Week, was shot and killed. The family held a rally in his honor last Friday at the Spectrum Church hoping to turn the tide of too many untimely deaths of young people in the community. Clinton and Sharen Johnson hope their son’s death can make a difference in the lives of the living.

“I am thankful that my son interacted with a lot of people, especially young people, so I could bring them closer to where he was,” Sharen Johnson said. “They know him as the fun, outgoing, basketball Three. But they also need to know that he knew who Jesus was. That is the reason for this season. And I thank God he had an encounter with all these people. Something in his life might be contagious and bring forth a change.”

Sharen Johnson knows there are elements and individuals in her neighborhood who create the wrong message. She says their social media posts depict guns and other things of violence or drugs.

But that wasn’t  Three, whose nickname came from being Clinton Johnson III. During his middle school days, Three was voted Mr. Linwood by the student body due to his solid grades and outgoing personality.

“He didn’t tell me what he had won, but I felt wonderful when I found out,” Sharen Johnson said. “I had to go buy him some cowboy boots for the program and I had to get three different pairs before I found some Three liked.”

A growth spurt helped Three transition from being a substitute to the full-time point guard he was supposed to be for coach Kenny Wayne Goldman. 

“Three went from being a baby to a young man in the space of about three months,” Sharen Johnson said. “I was like ‘Wow.’ My baby’s not a baby any more.”

Sharen Johnson is praying that the violence in Shreveport comes to an end .

“A lot of people say they pray. But do they have a relationship? God says ‘Out of everything, we must get an understanding,' ” Johnson said quoting the Bible. “You should get an understanding about a situation before you go and take action. They’re not thinking - they’re just taking action.”

The one consolation the Johnson family has mined from a difficult situation is finding out how many people loved their son, brother and cousin.

“That’s what God wants us to do – love each other,” Sharen Johnson said. “But there shouldn’t have to be a death for us to come together. If we just pulled together, it could happen.” 

Jimmy Watson covers Shreveport-Bossier area sports. Email him at jwatson@shreveporttimes.com and follow him on Twitter @JimmyWatson6.