Posted on 03/05/2006 12:29:34 PM PST by radar101
Brandon Jackson and his friends were returning home to East Oakland one night last month when they spotted thieves breaking into a neighbor's car. When Brandon tried to stop them, they shot him dead.
He was 16 years old, and on Feb. 25 he became the 18th person killed in Oakland this year.
His mother, Cynthia Smith, is terrified of the violence consuming her neighborhood and others around the city. She's so scared that she won't let her 11-year-old son outside, and with good reason: Little more than two months into the year, 22 other people have lost their lives to violence. She doesn't want him to be the next victim.
"These kids have nothing to do," she said. "They don't have no movies, no place to hang out, so they're killing each other, finding it entertaining and to make themselves feel good and look good."
The latest slayings occurred late Friday night when Gary Ruiz, 20, and Elizabeth Lopez, 18, were gunned down on the 2000 block of 50th Avenue. The 23 homicides -- four of them in the first four days of this month -- are almost three times as many as Oakland recorded by this time last year, an alarming pace that has unsettled residents and police alike. City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente declared the city's homicide rate a "crisis" last week, and Mayor Jerry Brown and Police Chief Wayne Tucker launched a police unit that will target crime hotspots throughout the city.
Some say it's too soon to call the homicide rate an alarming trend, noticing that such crimes tend to come in waves. But others argue the time to act is now, and they say Brown and Tucker are on the right course.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1587052/posts
That is what you get when you second guess and prosecute your cops.
they only start to care when the crime comes to their gated communities.
Raise your hand if you think putting in a movie theater and other entertainment will stop the gangs from killing each other.
DUHHH....LEMME THINK...
Perhaps a-la-Katrina they will also demand to know how they are SUPPOSED to make their way to the theater.
"Raise your hand if you think putting in a movie theater and other entertainment will stop the gangs from killing each other."
You put it more succinctly than I, GG. However, I still made a few modifications to what was stated in the article:
"These kids have no (Fathers)," she said. "They don't have no (stability in their lives), no place to (see what it's like not to have a crack addict for a mother), so they're killing each other, finding it entertaining and to make themselves feel good and look good."
Good post, Diana. That is the truth.
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.