The case centers on a father’s account of trying to comfort his son after both were shot near their family’s mailbox. Authorities have not publicly identified a motive or explained why the boys allegedly came to the home.
Vernon “Wes” Lancaster says he watched his son, Eric Wesley Lancaster, 53, get shot near the family’s mailbox in Bakersfield, California, on July 18. Eric Lancaster was killed and his father was wounded; Wes Lancaster says he held his son’s hand and told him to “stay with us” as Kern County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded.
Three juvenile boys, ages 12, 13 and 16, were charged with murder in the Bakersfield shooting, along with other alleged offenses. The case has left a family grieving while key questions — including a possible motive — remain unanswered.
A shooting outside the home
Deputies were called to the 800 block of Crane Street in east Bakersfield at about 7:30 p.m. July 18 after reports of a shooting, according to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office.
They found two men with gunshot wounds. One man died at the scene, while the other was transported to a hospital. Authorities identified the man killed as Eric Lancaster, and his father, Wes Lancaster, survived.
Wes Lancaster later told Bakersfield television station KERO-TV that Eric had been confronted near a mailbox outside the home. He said he had been sitting in the front yard and rushed over when he realized something was wrong.
“I didn’t see my shooter shoot me, but I seen my shooter shoot my son,” Wes Lancaster told the station. He said Eric had no known connection to the people who attacked him.
A father’s account of loss
In his account to KERO-TV, Wes Lancaster described reaching for his son after he fell. He said he held Eric’s hand and repeatedly urged him to remain with the family.
“When my son fell, I reached over as hard as I could to hold his hand and tell him to stay with us, stay with us,” Lancaster said. “And it was too late.”
The details make the case particularly harrowing: the father was not only injured himself, but was close enough to witness his son’s final moments. His account is a firsthand description of the scene, not a determination of the facts that prosecutors must prove in court.
For the Lancaster family, the criminal case will unfold alongside a more immediate reality — the death of a 53-year-old man in front of his home and the survival of his wounded father.
Charges against three minors
The three suspects have not been publicly named because they are minors. Officials said the boys, ages 12, 13 and 16, have been charged with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy and participation in a criminal street gang.
They also face firearm-related allegations, according to reporting citing the Kern County District Attorney’s Office. Charges are accusations, and each defendant is entitled to due process in the juvenile justice system.
The attempted-murder charge appears to correspond to the shooting of Wes Lancaster, who was wounded but survived. Authorities have not publicly laid out the specific conduct they allege for each of the three boys.
The extraordinary ages involved are central to public attention around the case. A 12-year-old, a 13-year-old and a 16-year-old charged in the same fatal shooting raises difficult questions about access to guns, group involvement and the systems meant to intervene before violence occurs.
How the arrests unfolded
The sheriff’s office said deputies detained the 16-year-old in the surrounding neighborhood on the night of the shooting. He was initially arrested in connection with an unrelated investigation, according to authorities.
Detectives later identified the two younger boys as suspects, the sheriff’s office said. The 12-year-old and 13-year-old were arrested on July 29 and Aug. 2, respectively.
That timeline indicates the investigation continued after the initial emergency response, with detectives building the case against the younger suspects over the following two weeks. Public reporting has not detailed what evidence led investigators to identify them.
Nor have authorities publicly said whether the boys knew one another before the shooting or how they allegedly arrived at the Lancaster home. Those details could become clearer through court proceedings, though juvenile cases often have more limited public access than adult criminal cases.
The motive remains unannounced
The largest gap in the public account is why the shooting occurred. The Kern County Sheriff’s Office has not announced a suspected motive or explained what allegedly brought the three boys to the home.
Wes Lancaster told KERO-TV that his son had no known connection to the alleged assailants. That statement, combined with the absence of a publicly disclosed motive, leaves the basic origin of the confrontation unclear.
Prosecutors will need to establish the allegations behind the murder and related charges. Defense attorneys, if they have not already done so, will have the opportunity to challenge the evidence and the state’s account in court.
For now, the verified outline is stark: a father and son were shot outside their Bakersfield home; Eric Lancaster died; Wes Lancaster survived; and three boys face serious criminal charges. The explanation for what led to that moment has not yet been made public.
A case with wider consequences
The case is likely to renew attention on youth violence without offering an easy explanation. The ages of the accused may prompt debate over accountability, juvenile rehabilitation, firearms access and whether warning signs were missed.
Those are separate questions from the legal process. The immediate case concerns what happened on Crane Street, whether the allegations can be proven and what consequences the juvenile court system can impose if the boys are found responsible.
It also remains a story about the people at the center of it: Eric Lancaster, whose life ended at 53, and his father, who says he tried to keep him present in the aftermath of the shooting.
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