According to CBS News in Chicago:
CHICAGO (CBS) ― Chicago police say they believe a shooting Friday night at a South Side high school that sent at least five male victims to the hospital was gang-related.
Police say the shots came from a vehicle that pulled up outside the building as a basketball game was getting out. Chicago police superintendent Jody Weis called the shootings at Paul Laurence Dunbar Vocational Career Academy "a tragedy."
"A girl started screaming, and then we just starting hearing shots," eyewitness Robert McCallum said. "I was the first one to jump, jump on the ground because they started shooting ... Everybody piled up on top of me. It was crazy."
Chicago police say they have 200 officers in the area looking for the shooters, but no one has been identified or arrested. Authorities say they believe the shooting is an "isolated incident" and that the neighborhood is not in danger.
Of the shooting victims, three were in serious condition and two were in critical condition. They were taken to area hospitals with gunshot wounds. A sixth female was injured in the rush to flee the bullets.
Authorities say video cameras at the school could help police in their investigation.
The game, against Hope High School, was in triple overtime when the shooting happened, according to CPS boys basketball coordinator Cyrus McGinnis, who said no players were injured in the shooting.
The shooting happened outside and everyone ran back into the gym to avoid injury, McGinnis said.
Thank God no one died, but when will this senseless violence stop? Below I blogged about how police officers will willingly kill a black man, but we are no better as we exhibit the same type of behavior with the ignorance of "black on black crime". This certainly was not the fault of any police officer. I can't help but wonder when we will wake up realize that the behavior these gangs promote and are apart of does nothing but hinder our growth as a people, community and nation...
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ReplyDeleteYou know, I've always wondered why there's a particular focus on specifically condemning "black-on-black crime." As if we're telling black folk "If you absolutely must rape/kill/beat up someone, make sure it ain't a black person!"
ReplyDeleteRather, the focus needs to be on condemning all crime and, much more importantly, working to clip the delinquent buds (in this case, black delinquency) while they're still in their very early stages. This means encouraging a solid familial foundation at home, organizing more compelling after-school activities to keep kids off the streets (just in case their at-home family sucks), and figuring out a way to get more $$$ to those schools so that kids actually can have a hope of succeeding via education. Even though I put alotta weight on the "personal responsibility" explanation of crime, it's no coincidence that violent crime happens a lot more in more bleak, desperate communities. While it obviously is unrealistic to assume that the 'hood can be turned into a tree-lined neighborhood of mansions, I think that specifically targeting crucial aspects of ghetto life like going to a shitty school and having a shitty family life (not always, but certainly a significant amount of the time!) definitely can curb the number of kids who end up turning to crime as a way to survive.
Also, I find it funny that you wrote a post condemning violence while up top, in your "Malcolm X Quotes" widget box, it says "Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery." Maybe someone put their hands on the dudes that pulled the drive-by's?
You like to nitpick and make yourself seem smarter than you really are don't you? You know the purpose of the statement black on black crime is not to say "if you must kill someone kill another race". All it says is violence is wrong (of course) and why are we (blacks) doing the same thing to ourself that has been done to us so many times and years before. "you have to love yourself before you can love someone else" make sense? Also, maybe you have a hard time reading between the lines and maybe you completely overlooked the last sentence that said "I can't help but wonder when we will wake up realize that the behavior these gangs promote and are apart of does nothing but hinder our growth as a people, community and nation... " Why don't you take a moment to intelligently interpret that last sentence before you try to "debunk" anything I just said...if you don't have the time, I will for you..the behavior they promote (violence) hinders are growth (everyone) as a nation, which means its EVERYONES problem because we are all Americans. Violence is wrong no matter what race...
ReplyDeleteOh, and about the Malcolm X quote, read my first post, last paragraph to get a better understanding. The very title of my blog should hint at that... Again, you like to be a sarcastic smart ass when you know exactly what context that Malcolm X quote was made in...
Oh, and I agree with a lot of what you said in the second paragraph of your comment : )
ReplyDeleteI wasn't trying to debunk anything you said, I just happened to see "black-on-black crime" and the first paragraph of my thought popped into my head. If I was trying to debunk you, I probably wouldn't have included the middle, substantive paragraph.
ReplyDeleteI'm still on the fence about the Malcolm X quote. Remember that alotta his more aggressive quotes were made when he was still young and didn't always think all his shit thru. I dunno if MLK woulda advocated sending folk to the cemetary for laying their hands on you. (though I must say Malcolm made a very, but not more compelling argument against non-violent demonstration for black folk — basically, it comes down to the "an eye for an eye will make the world blind" explanation for why I still tactically side with MLK more than Malcolm)
"an eye for an eye will make the world blind"
ReplyDelete^
Very true. I feel what you saying though...Malcolms life is an interesting one to study, especially since he "came to his sense" towards the end of his life.
well my aim isnt to go on a wordy rampage. I just wanted to say that this is upsetting. The black on black crime is in fact a HUGE problem. Many babies, elderly people, and teens (look at the recent number of teen deaths in chicago) have died due to black on black crimes. It isnt the whites that are killing us off, its ourselves. Yea its easy to point the finger and say, well it starts in the homes and we need these programs at schools and yada yada bullshit. When are YOU and people like you H.Bomb going to wake up and see that these teens are old enough to make the right decisions and more often than less are allotted more than enough time to "think" about what they are going to do to some one (hence the terms, drive bys, retaliation, etc.)These are planned attacks.
ReplyDeleteWe even have cameras on damn near every block in chicago watching over us. As if we are children or animals that need to be "tamed".
I also wanted to comment on your ignorant statement pertaining to "condemning" black on black crime. It doesnt take a rocket science or a common man that insists on using wordy sentences to slightly seem "intelligent" to figure out this blogger is against ANY type of crime. Do you expect him to embrace black on black crime, or over look black on black crime (which by him being black, he can relate to, so therefore he blogs about it)?
I know book sense doesnt mean that common sense is right around the corner, but the topic for this specific blog surrounds a shooting at a black high school in Chicago (where we have had ALOT of high school shootings at black schools and black on black crime). Focus on the topic at hand and stop knit picking and avoiding the problem (BLACK ON BLACK CRIME IN CHICAGO AND THE REST OF THE NATION). Though I must say, with your knit picking and dumb ass solutions for our problems (tree lined neighborhoods with mansions and more awesome school programs, which by the way we have tried additional after school programs for decades, yes dating backing to Harold Washington's days) you would make a great Politician, all talk and no plausible solution. Kudos to you big guy
Oh and one more thing, Malcolm said that quote for one reason. It was for hope. The quote it self showcases the desperate measures that blacks were taking to be "equal". Im more than positive that he didnt want blacks going out killing whites everytime something went wrong. His aim was to give HOPE and to allow whites to be exposed to the new black man (women included) and that we werent going to take it any more. Stop being so critical of your history and wats going on in your culture (i will assume ur black) and be critical of being responsible for finding a new solution to OLD ASS PROBLEMS...and IM OUT!!
ReplyDeleteFrom one Chi-Town brotha to anotha,
ReplyDeleteI am REALLY feeling this blog! I am especially enjoying your exchange with HBomb.
And I gotta go with Frederick on the whole after-school program theory. It's only effective if the programs incorporate life applications needed for future careers. Plus, there needs to be a more competitive element introduced to the kids. Since we like sports so much, why not turn standardized test scores into a sport? Kids will be probably be more motivated to score high if they want to beat out that privileged school in the 'burbs.
I will be back here! Consider yourselves added to my blog roll!
ONE LOVE!
I appreciate that Zack!
ReplyDelete@Frederick:
ReplyDeleteLast time I checked, people aren't born criminals. Their environment certainly shapes them and, in the cesspool that is the ghetto, the only allure drawing kids outta poverty is criminal activity. Thus, if you expose them to OTHER ways out (i.e. bettering the schools so they have more than a snowball's chance in hell of competing against non-ghetto schoolkids for college admissions), they will gradually turn less and less to black-on-black crime.
If you think that such opportunities and school betterment programs have already been implented "dating back back to Harold Washington's days," well then whoever's organizing such programs needs to step their game up! You can look at test scores and dropout rates from the past decades for proof of that. (do you really just think the ghettos coincidentally have a higher % of kids who wanna drop outta school than the pampered suburban communities?)
Another spill of information I can go to the UNCF website to find. I know that drop out numbers are increasing yada yada yada. Ghetto this ghetto that, suburban kids this suburban kids that. So my question is, what would you like me to do about education/after school programs. My field is nursing (currently in school working towards my BSN (RN). If education is your forte, I challenge you to go out and do something about it. Both you know and I know that educational programs have been failing our youth, but our wordy exchanges here wont solve the problem. I do plan to go back and help coach the football team I played for 5th-8th grade, but for now I have to focus on completing my BSN (Nursing school is a full time Job). So instead of scrutinizing the efforts of (most importantly) CPS, and great people such as Harold Washington, what are you going to do Mr.H. Bomb. Peace and love bro.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, please dont take offense. It just seems that you are highly enthused about helping or at the very least contributing a plausible solution. It is clear that things are only getting worse, someone has to come up with a better plan. Peace and love.
ReplyDelete