Boy, 15, shot to death near Obama home: "Call my mama"

[Robb]

Cornelius German told his mother he was afraid to wait for her at the bus stop because of all the shootings lately, so he asked her to meet him at a friend's.

Timika Rutledge said she and the boy's father pulled up to a home and waited Monday night, even blowing the horn for him to come out. Then they saw police arrive.

"I saw an officer and I stopped him and asked, 'Officer, what's going on?' "

"A kid got shot in the back," he told Rutledge.

"I went back there and saw my son's jacket and his gym shoes. I just bought those shoes. I saw him laying in the grass in the backyard. ... I knew it was him in the dark."

Read More: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-4-shot-in-englewood-20130422,0,7111292.story

[Cha]

1. No place is fucking safe from gun violence.

Poor Cornbread. RIP, honey.

thanks Robb

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

34. no place?

Are you assuming "that" place must be a good area because the president lived nearby? The first sentence is a big tell.

[lpbk2713]

2. Heart breaking

I don't think I could endure losing a child to a random act of stupid senseless violence.

[Skittles]

3. .

[newfie11]

4. So sad and heartbreaking

What a waste.

[Phentex]

5. It's awful...

and it hurts.

Damn.

[WI_DEM]

6. kids aren't safe on the streets of these days because of a assholes and their guns.

[busterbrown]

7. Listen, I wonder how much money was made off of this story today..

These stories sell guns. Fear sells guns...The gun manufacturers rely on these stories to make money.. Fuck Them!!

[riderinthestorm]

10. To be fair, the U of C campus is an oasis residing amongst a warzone.

Obama's house could certainly be within the tranquil (safe) haven of the U of C while just 4 - 5 blocks away its madness. Not all streets are unsafe.

But this is just such a sad and terrible crime. I hate this...

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

35. this is correct

[valerief]

8. But city gun deaths don't matter. They're invisible to the ruling class eye. nt

[Spitfire of ATJ]

12. When it does touch them it creates Batman....

Yet another fiction. An honest rich crime fighter.

[Heather MC]

9. If this had not been down the Street from the Presidents home

We never would have heard about it. Is MSM reporting on this

[Spitfire of ATJ]

13. What gets me is when the media spins it as an "Obama failure" story.

[brer cat]

11. Our children should not be afraid to wait at a bus stop,

and should be safe in a friend's back yard. Poor Cornbread. RIP, baby.

[FarCenter]

14. The 5000 Block of South Evans Avenue is about 2200' due west of Obama's house

It's a short block off the north side of East Hyde Park Blvd.

Apartment buildings instead of single family homes.

This happened at 9:30 pm. Kids should be at home by that time.

[rbrnmw]

15. How cold of you

I hope you are never the victim or a parent of a victim

[haele]

21. 9:30 at a friends home "out back" - for a 15 year old, that's not "late".

That's about the time I'd be picking up the kidlet at that age. This kid seemed to be doing the right things (calling his parents to pick him up from a friend's house before it got too late), but got shot anyway.

Gangbangers, or a little kid that found someone's stashed gun and didn't know how to handle it.

Get living-wage jobs back in the city, legalize and regulate drugs, "enforce" or enhance gun regulations.
Give young people something tangible to do that they can be proud of other than being in a gang.
That will take care of a lot of the gang violence - not all, but a lot.

Haele

[FarCenter]

31. The shooting was deliberate, not an accident. The kid was watching some people playing dice.

When the game was over, an argument broke out, and the shooting started.

While the kid might be an innocent bystander, the use of the gun was part of an argument between gamblers.

9:30 is still to late for children to be outside without supervision of a responsible adult.

[laundry_queen]

38. Do you have kids?

because 9:30 is pretty much totally normal where I am. And in someone's backyard is not 'out'. That's ridiculous. In fact, I don't know of a single parent who would think 9:30 in a friend's backyard for a 15 year old as being unreasonable. And I frequent many parenting boards with people from all over the US and Canada.

That you are blaming the victim here is quite frankly, fucking disgusting. I hope nothing ever happens to those you love where people blame you for not predicting the future.

[FarCenter]

39. Three grown children

At 15 it would have been very unusual for then to not be at home on a school night by 9:30 pm. If they were at a friends at that time (rarely), it would have been with a friend whose parents were trusted to supervise them.

[laundry_queen]

40. I think you are the exception.

I don't know any parents like that now, and I didn't know any parents like that when I was growing up. I still think it's disgusting you're blaming the victim here.

[FarCenter]

43. If you think its appropriate to have your kid out until 9:30 watching dice games with gang bangers..

So be it.

[laundry_queen]

44. Wow, what an amazing twisting of the words that I said! Go ahead, blame the parents and the kid who

was shot if it makes you feel better about yourself.

[riderinthestorm]

45. You now know another family who does not allow their kids out that late on a school night. Mine.

While I wouldn't blame the victim here, (and I certainly know families whose children are out and about at 9:30 pm on a school night), my 16 yr old has to be in 8 on a school night.

In IL, curfew is 10 pm on a school night. 11 pm on a weekend. And in my community they pull the kids over if they suspect they're out under-age and after curfew. The kids get a ticket and have to wait for a parent to come pick them up - the kid is not allowed to make their own way home even if they are driving the family car. My nephew was ticketed for this just last November so I know it first hand.

[laundry_queen]

46. Well to be fair I don't 'know' you

the people I'm talking about online that I 'know' are people I've met IRL or are friends of the ones I've met IRL.

We don't have a community curfew. Very few places in my province do. The places that do - the curfews aren't enforced. I'm against them...no wonder we have citizens that are more than willing to submit to authoritarian type rule that the right loves so much.

I hope nothing happens to your child where people blame you and your child for something someone else views as crappy parenting. I hope you enjoy your high horse.

[riderinthestorm]

47. Why are you being so rude? Nothing in my post was snotty.

I have no idea how you could interpret what I said as my "high horse"...



FWIW, PLENTY of people believe I'm a crap parent - probably here on DU and in RL. I've been quite upfront on DU about my 16 yr old's drama as any site search would demonstrate. I am COMPLETELY humbled in my parenting and make no bones about it as my numerous posts about this particular daughter have shown. I have real and troubling reasons my 16 yr old is home by 8 and find your assumption that this is about a "high horse" completely crazy.

FWIW, virtually all places in the US have teen curfews now. They were instituted to try to stop the late night car crashes where a carful of teens smashes into something and everyone is killed. Its not authoritarian. Its meant to save lives (and it has, demonstrably so).

I'm thinking you aren't living in the US....

[laundry_queen]

48. Nope, I'm in Canada

but I don't think the teen culture is THAT different, if my interactions with American parents are any indication. Teens here still drive fast and drink and do drugs and other dumb things.

And the reason I said high horse is because the tone in this thread is 'if only that horrible mother would've had her son in by 8 he'd still be alive, she deserves it'. It doesn't appear there is any other reason for you to mention YOUR child is in by 8 unless it was to point out that somehow the mother of the dead teen was at fault in some way for not keeping her kid inside at 9:30. I'm sorry for the snark if that was not your intention, but that is what it seemed like to me.

As for where I live - curfew is rare in our province. A few towns have it, but it's not enforced. I understand you say it's meant to save lives, but it hasn't made much of a difference here at all. I still see it as a breeding ground for authoritarianism. We treat our kids and teens as if they belong under lock and key - we tell them what to do, when to do it and how do get it done. No one focuses on intrinsic motivation and discipline - everything our children learn is about extrinsic motivation and control. School is a dictatorship, as are most homes. Society infantilizes teens and tries to control them instead of getting them involved. When our teens hit adulthood, they don't know how to function without some kind of extrinsically enforced set of rules or moral code. As much as you deny it - the whole system sets kids up to accept authoritarianism. Even though a curfew is but a small subset of the entire issue, it matters. I'm also against uniforms in schools, for example, or corporal punishment.

Now, I have a 15 1/2 year old daughter so I can relate to dealing with teens. Luckily, my kids have been wonderful so far with regards to behavior (with a small exception when my ex first left 3 years ago, my then-7 year old had a rough year and I put her in therapy). They get straight A's, are involved in school activities and come home when I ask them to. I don't have any hard and fast rules about anything other than no hitting/fighting and speaking respectfully. Oh, and I'm the mom - I'll listen to you and hear you out but *I* get to make the final decision. Everything else is dealt with on a case by case basis, including curfew. I aim to be reasonable and give and take a bit. I make sure the lines of communication are open and so far so good - although I'm not going to gloat about how great things are going because if there's anything I've learned as a parent is that as soon as I'm feeling like a great parent, one of my kids goes and proves me wrong, LOL. I have 4 girls and my 15 yo is my oldest, so I have a lot of kids to go through yet.

Anyway, I had no idea about your 16 yo's 'drama' I just thought you were blaming the victim and snarking about what a bad parent his mother must be. That's what set me off - there but before the Grace of God go I. Or whatever that saying is (I'm so not religious).

[riderinthestorm]

49. In post #25 I make it clear that that area of Chicago is unsafe at any hour.

In fact, I pointed out in that post that Hadiya Pendleton was killed in a very close by park in the middle of the afternoon.

I was simply responding to your point that seemed to indicate that nobody puts curfews on their kids.

FWIW, my oldest is 25 (never had a curfew and never needed one), my youngest is 16 (and yes, she is definitely one of those who makes parents shudder and cringe and say "there but for the grace of god go I&quot . I never judge other parents. Not even the Tsarnaev parents. Every kid (and family) is different. You can apply the exact same parenting to each one of them and they'll still surprise the hell out of you.

The young man in the OP was living in a warzone. I've never done so and I would never dare presume to judge that mother.

[Blue_In_AK]

41. Kids here are out playing in the street at 11:30 at night in the summertime.

It's daylight.

[FarCenter]

42. This is Chicago, not Alaska; latest sunset is in late June at 8:30 pm local time

It is dark at 9:30 pm.

[Blue_Tires]

27. We're from a different generation

I regularly see elementary-middle school age kids playing or biking well past 11 in my neighborhood...On weeknights...

(and this is a well-to-do Republican enclave)

[SummerSnow]

28. Stupid comment really.

What about children who get shot early in the day at school in neighborhoods with single family homes?Maybe they should stay home too.Oh that already happened.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

16. So, when and how do we take back the turf from these gang bangers?

We need to make them very afraid to be caught with a gun, or with any weapon, for that matter.
I wonder, is this tolerated in the rich white areas of Chicago?

[newmember]

17. No more handguns

Tell me another industrialized nation where it allows millions of people
to carry or own handguns?

anybody???

[spin]

29. Chicago doesn't allow honest citizens to carry firearms.

And while a criminal can be arrested for illegal carry he often gets a slap on the wrist.

OPINIONApril 1, 2013, 7:44 p.m. ET
Daley and Ander: Don't Take Your Guns to Town
Judges too often take a lenient view of illegally carrying a weapon. The results can be disastrous.

By WILLIAM M. DALEY AND ROSEANNA ANDER

The American criminal-justice system often penalizes petty offenses too heavily but is too lenient on a crime that is far from petty: illegally carrying a gun in public. When someone carries a gun illegally, a heated argument can swiftly turn into a fatal altercation.

Much of the national discussion in the wake of the Newtown schoolhouse shootings has focused on limiting gun ownership by high-risk people. But to truly address the many homicides committed in America's cities, lawmakers also need to ensure there are real consequences for illegally carrying a gun on the street. Regardless of whether or not the gun was lawfully obtained—carrying one illegally is a more serious offense than possession, since it is directly linked with high murder rates.

In 2012, 506 people were murdered in Chicago. According to an analysis of homicide data by the University of Chicago Crime Lab, nearly 86% of those killings were committed with a firearm, and more than three-fourths occurred outdoors, virtually all with illegally carried guns. Across the country in 2010, guns were used in 11,078 homicides—and illegally carried guns were a central element in most of the killings.

Although gun offenses are generally taken seriously when they are part of crimes such as homicide, aggravated assault or robbery, the act of illegally carrying a gun itself typically doesn't incur significant punishment. Many judges often seem to focus on the fact that no one was hurt, and so they treat these cases leniently—often by sentencing offenders to probation. Time behind bars is saved for those who commit "real" crimes....emphasis added
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323605404578383072938628386.html

[baldguy]

32. The OP and the RW rag you link to give very good reasons for that.

The criminal-justice system needs to recognize that carrying a gun illegally imposes a risk of serious harm to society. In this sense it is a lot like drunk driving, which also used to be subject to "no harm, no foul" sentencing. Drunk driving declined only after tough laws and law enforcement made it a grave crime.

Illegal gun carrying should be treated the same way. The risky behavior itself should be punished; waiting until something terrible happens isn't good enough.

[spin]

33. When we actually punish those who carry illegally ...

Gun violence will decrease.

That will not totally solve the problem but it will help.

[cantbeserious]

18. The Terror And Depravity Wrought By America's Gun Culture Knows No Bounds

eom

[Sienna86]

19. I feel for this mother.

The answer to this epidemic in Cihicago is complex. We need good male role models, jobs for youth, guns out of the hands of gangs and probably a handful of other things. That's just a start.

It's spring here and decent weather. I cannot fault any parents for having their son out at 9:30 pm.

[riderinthestorm]

25. Welcome to DU. My 16 yr old has to be in by 8 on school nights and we don't live on the South side

of Chicago which is in the middle of a war zone at the moment.

In fairness to this mom though, I'd guess that area isn't safe at any time of day or night right now. Hadiya Pendleton was shot in broad daylight (in the same general area like you said).

Its a terrible time...

[postulater]

20. Imagine how proud his parents were of him on the day he graduated.

senseless.

[malaise]

23. Too sad

life takes second place to guns

[madokie]

24. too many guns in too many peoples hands who shouldn't have them

I'll venture to say more than likely the gun that killed this kid was taken in a burglary somewhere down the road. I may be way off and if I am mybad

[SummerSnow]

26. Damn.....damn

[sheshe2]

30. Oh no, that poor sweet boy!

May he rest in peace.

[Mr Dixon]

37. SMH

I grew-up laying on the floor on the 4th of July and new years, when I got a little older California was like the wild Wild West, this was between 1985 to 1989 nothing has changed Very Sad.