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 ...
Well America there you have it.
I can remember back when FR started we use to say society is getting like “Clockwork Orange”.
Now I can honestly say we have surpassed “Clockwork Orange”.
God help us.
There are a lot of people who think that the threat of the death penalty doesn’t affect behavior.
This is another example of how wrong they are.
This has gone on and on and on and nothing is ever done. A lot of moronic yackety-yack about poverty, racism, diversity, tolerance, empowerment and even midnight basketball. The violence got so bad at one time they even tried having islamic patrols (slight pause so we can all laugh or vomit) control the violence. All gangs, should be put on notice and subsequently eradicated. The right of assembly is lost when the reason for assembly is violence. This defies my usual philosophy of personal responsibility, but I would say the best thing that could happen to solve this would be that Hip-Hop music (I use the term, music, loosely) would lose popularity. The glorification of these murderous thugs goes a long way in seeing they retain whatever power they have. These thugs would be ripe for the military entity I think should replace the border patrol. Clean it all up, one thug, one city at a time.
“Then if you won’t do right for your own grandshildren, you won’t do right for anyone.”
I watch “The First 48” sometimes about the first two days of murder investigations. I saw one yesterday where some thug shot into a car with a woman and some children in it, killing a 2-year old girl and injuring another girl. The mother said she didn’t know who or why. She was, of course, lying. It was her boyfriend. Thank goodness her little 8-year old that was in the car told the police who it was. The mother had just lost her daughter, saw who did it, and was still going to lie. Unfathomable.
Must be the lead in the pipes that’s keeping people from coming forward and testifying against these scumbags. /sarc
*************
Sad, but true.
“No snitchin”. The code of the playground has infected our society of eternal adolescence.
Don't snitch.
I can see that you have never visited a place where the criminals outnumber the honest citizens.
I don't believe that is true. They aren't the mafia and they're very unorganized. A guy I know got shot by a gang member and was getting harassed by his gang at his home. He moved across town and never heard from them again.
This is the reason people aren’t seeing a massive improvement out here in Iraq-
America’s (self made) *subjects* don’t know/care enough to stand up and let good men lead!
This neighborhood needs just ONE person to stand up, get with the community, and get armed. And yes, I am advocating escalation of violence.
One of these gang bangers pansies pulls this 5h17 again, the person on the end of the street lights up their vehicle. They want to play with force? They want to live “by the sword”? Then let’s fulfill the rest of the passge- let them die by the sword.
An armed victim is either one or the other.
I agree with you,but you know America. A victim lights up one of these azzwipes and he is called a vigilante and some turd like Nifong does all he can to hang the guy.
A community is only as safe as it makes itself. By the time the police get there all of the perps are gone.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.