Saturday, June 16, 2007

Another Milwaukee Child Shot

In this case, the shooting of a Milwaukee child didn't occur in broad daylight.

This one took place extremely late, just after 3:00 AM.

From
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:



A 14-year-old boy was hospitalized after being shot early this morning on the city's south side, Milwaukee police said today.

...[T]he teenager was on his porch with a group of people in the 2100 block of S. 17th St. when he was shot from a passing car about 3:12 a.m.

The teen suffered gunshot wounds to the arm and leg and police described his condition as stable. Police are seeking occupants of a white Lincoln. Burkee said gang ties are being investigated but that the victim did not belong to a gang.


Where were the boy's parents?

Is it routine for them to allow their child to be any place other than at home in bed at 3:00 in the morning?

Maybe the kid was with his parents.

Maybe mommy and daddy knew exactly where he was.

Maybe they were sitting right next to him on their porch.

Although the 14-year-old victim isn't a gang member, maybe daddy is.


Maybe a brother or cousin or a friend belongs to a gang and was on the porch.

Maybe mommy is still in her 20s and will be a grandmother by the time she hits 30.

Of course, I have no idea what the specifics of this case are; but I do know that a 14-year-old should not be with a group of people, possibly including gang members, sitting on a porch at 3:00 in the morning.

Milwaukee's future is bleak. The generation coming up is being raised with inadequate parental guidance and supervision.

Thugs beget thugs.


Reality bites.

Would Ward and June Cleaver have let Wally be out at that time of night?

Would Cliff and Clair Huxtable have let Theo hang out with people involved in gang activity?

Would any decent parent?

Milwaukee has changed. It continues to change. Things aren't going to get better there.



2 comments:

Mark said...

I've noticed whenever a newspaper reports a gang shooting, the victim is usually an "innocent" victim. I have long since stopped believing this. Most likely, the victim in this case, as with many others, is either a full fledged gangsta or at the very least, a gangsta wannabe. I've seen this over and over ad nauseum. My own stepson was one of those gangsta wannabes who hung around with the gangs in town until he himself was wounded in a drive by. Yeah, he was an innocent victim, too. Listen. If a 14 year old is innocent, what the hell is he doing loitering about in the middle of the night in a gang infested area? Give me a break.

Mary said...

Thank God your stepson was only wounded, Mark.

Recently in Milwaukee, there's been a rash of shootings of innocent bystanders. A little 4-year-old girl was shot and killed skipping rope. One girl was hit by stray bullets while she was asleep inside a home. She was staying over at a friend's house when she was shot. Last week, another girl was shot in the forehead while playing outside with friends.

These are innocents caught in the crossfire, but I agree with you about these supposedly non-gang member young males shot while hanging out with gang members. It's hard to think of them as innocent.