Posted on 07/09/2007 5:12:47 AM PDT by shrinkermd
A woman who was standing 10 feet away when a stray bullet from a gang fight struck 7-year-old Tajahnique Lee in the face told the police she had been too distracted by her young son to see who fired the shots.
A man who was also in the courtyard when that .45-caliber round blew Tajahnique off her bicycle told detectives he had been engrossed in conversation with neighbors and ducked too quickly to notice what had happened.
Indeed, at least 20 people were within sight of the gunfight among well-known members of the Sex Money Murder subset of the Bloods gang 15 months ago, but the case remains unsolved because not a single one will testify or even describe what they saw to investigators. The witnesses include Vera Lee, Tajahnique’s grandmother, who declined to be interviewed for this article. People who have spoken to her about the shooting said she would not talk to the police for fear she would “have to move out of the country.”
When it happened, Tajahnique’s shooting in the Wilson-Haverstick housing project in Trenton promised to become a tipping point in the city’s five-year struggle to control gangs, with residents furious that anyone could be callous enough to stage a gun battle in broad daylight where dozens of children were playing... The
Instead, the case stands as a striking example of the way witness intimidation has stymied law enforcement and allowed gangs to tyrannize entire communities. The truce quickly unraveled. The charges against the two gang members were dropped within a month. Even a local program designed to coax young men out of gangs by buying them business suits has seen its limitations; one participant had his outfit designed in Bloods red.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
This story shows the lack of empathy, identification or whatever that is required in a civilized society to preserve safety and order.
Bush’s fault.
Snitches get stitches and wind up in ditches.
This is disgusting. These are the fruits of the "no snitching" culture.
Keepin' it real. (real stupid)
“Tajahnique “
??
Then if you won't do right for your own grandshildren, you won't do right for anyone.
I would venture to guess that most gunfights are not "staged", these days. They see to be more impromptu, come-as-you-are type affairs...
They should be proud of themselves. They stood up to a wounded little girl and refused to snitch. These are truly the kind of tough guys the “stop snitching” campaign is all about.
So they can graduate from "gang banger' to "hustler".
Well, at least it is illegal for the witnesses to buy drugs, despite this casualty.
These are people who are not armed,but yet know that the police cannot protect them./
Its easy to say these people are cowardly,but the fact is that if they appear as witnesses they probably will die.
That is how gangs thrive. Blame it on the lawyers that get these gangsters out on bail before the police can write the report. More and more gangs are taking over communities.
Those of us who dont live in communities like this should learn from them. Once a gang gets a foothold its move or fight. Dont let them get that foothold.
I swear there are legions of people in modern American cities who are not even worthy of their rats. Yet rather than hunting down and exterminating these utterly worthless degenerates, the likes of Bloomberg would address this problem by taking my gun rights away.
Its easy to say these people are cowardly,but the fact is that if they appear as witnesses they probably will die.
It's easy to say that they're cowardly because they are. If they will not defend themselves, they are essentially asking for a master, and they obviously have them.
I don't worry about a bullet with my name on it, but I am scared of bullets marked 'to whom it may concern'.
NY is no more poor now than it was under Giuliani. The reason crime has escalated is that the NY libs don’t care about it.
Well, there's gonna be hell to pay when Tajahnique's father hears about ....um........
Well, when T's grandfather hears...cough....
Hell man it coulda been T's own daddy that capped her, who (including daddy dearest hisownself) would know.
This is disgusting. These are the fruits of the “no snitching” culture.
_________
Two words: Kitty Genovese.
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