‘Thug’ Inaccurate Description

We appreciate very much the Jan. 22 article “Vigil Honors Life of Man Fatally Shot.” It serves as an ode to a young man whose death would now not be in vain if the message will be understood: Here is a man who is a hero by giving up his own life to save a life, and he was leading others into the righteous fold.

There is just one item that I request that you, please, correct. In the 10th paragraph of the article it referred to me as “Victorio, himself a former street thug . . . “ I feel that the use of the word “thug” (as defined in dictionaries) is very inappropriate in describing me. I could be misconstrued as a former gangster, sinister vagabond or an underworld death harbinger.

I was never any of these.

DANNY VICTORIO, Oxnard