Posted on 06/27/2006 12:37:23 PM PDT by SmithL
MEMPHIS — Relatives, friends and community activists are calling for an end to violence that left an 11-year-old boy dead last week and a 13-year-old girl clinging to life after being shot in the head Monday.
Melissa Robertson was struck by a bullet about 5 p.m. at a park in the Binghamton area of Memphis, police said. She was in extremely critical condition and on life support Monday night at Regional Medical Center.
Robertson was struck by a bullet fired by one of two groups that had been arguing at the park, said Lt. Toney Armstrong with the department’s homicide division.
"One group got into a vehicle and shots were fired from the car," he said. "The 13-year-old girl was hit in the head by shots fired."
Shortly after Robertson was shot, a 5-year-old girl riding in a van with her family was struck in the leg by another bullet in north Memphis. She was treat at the Med in non-critical condition.
Both shootings came after Martez Henderson, 11, was killed by a stray bullet while on a playground Thursday. His 4-year-old cousin, Donterrious Taylor, was also hit in the arm and survived.
On Monday police said they had arrested a suspect in Henderson’s death. Montrel Javon Gilliam, 18, is charged with first-degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder.
Police said Gilliam had been firing shots at a vehicle when three of the bullets struck Henderson in the torso and another hit his cousin.
The shootings mark the sixth time this year children in the Memphis area have been injured or killed by stray gunfire.
Jakira Lewis, 2, died April 20 after being shot in her mother’s arms during a drive-by shooting outside a public housing complex near downtown Memphis.
Last month, 12-year-old Dewawn Matthews injured when he was hit once in the chest by a stray shot from a .22-caliber pistol fired in an argument outside his home.
On Monday, about seven members of Memphis Movement, a group of rappers and other music professionals calling for an end to violence, gathered at the park where Robertson was shot. They also gathered Thursday in front of the apartments where Henderson was shot.
"Here we are again. Just tell me when it’s going to stop," said a rapper who goes by the handle Scat Cat. "When?"
"No, I don’t let my kids go to that park," Binghamton resident Carolyn Graham said. "I know the parks are for children, but not over here. It is just not safe."
Melissa Robertson died earlier today.
God bless her. She died without ever having lived.
Martez and Donterrious?
Not to mention Jakira and Dewawn.
For starters, "relatives, friends, and community activists" should be calling for people in these violence-plagued communities to stop giving their children names which will make them feel out of place in civilized society (not to mention make civilized society uncomfortable having them around), and perfectly comfortable in a street gang. There is one normal name in this story (Melissa); the other five children (including the 18 year old shooter) mentioned are: "Martez", "Donterrious", "Montrel Javon", "Jakira", "Dewawn". What kind of future is a parent imagining for their child when they name him "Donterrious" or "Dewawn"?
"Good black people get a bad rap (no pun intended) by these thugs."
Yeh right! Just like the "moderate" muslims do.
Both stand by and do nothing to root out the animals from their communities while playing "victim".
Donterrious sounds like an adjective I can't quite remember the definition for :-). Dewawn? Yawn?
What are these people thinking!
That's so sad.
I am finished trying to be politically correct....
What color are these people...? Black
the same as the ones shooting it up in New Orleans? Yes
The same as the ones shooting it up in Las Vegas? Yes
I live in this Hellhole and can't wait to get out. One of the biggest sad things about this problem is that the mayor of Memphis, Willie W. Herenton, doesn't even give a s#@t. He's more interested in enriching his own sorry self than helping the police with the proper resources to fight the crime.
BTW, did you see the casino shootout in Vegas? Dude starting popping caps, all the while hopping around like a rabid rabbit and grabbing his crotch. That was the funniest part of the scene. He must have been supporting another piece for when his other gun runs out of lead. Just one sick s o b.
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