It sometimes seems that as a city we have become desensitized to the violence that plagues our streets day in and day out. People haven't seemed too upset about Hartford's homicide rate this year because up until a couple weeks ago it was half of what it was last year. That seems to have changed quickly over the last few weeks.
Although every shooting and homicide is important, some seem to minimize their effects on the City by claiming they are drug dealers or gang members fighting amongst themselves. Even with that explanation though, we have to wonder what has happened to the value of a human life when young men think nothing of taking another life at the end of a gun barrel.
The saddest part is that lately we have seen bystanders also suffering injury or death from the gunfire.
Recently a pregnant woman and a couple of her friends were shot while standing on her front porch as the bullets began flying. The woman lost the baby she was carrying as a result of the shooting. Another woman got in the way when the shooters were aiming for her sun and she stepped in and the bullet hit her.
Those two women survived but Hartford's latest victim wasn't as lucky.
Last night at the corner of Enfield and Greenfield Streets a 25 year old woman from East Hartford became Hartford's latest homicide victim. From what I am being told, she had gone to the small corner store to purchase candy for some children and as she exited the store she walked into a gunfight that broke out at the same time.
She was hit once and was declared dead shortly thereafter at 10:31PM. Vehicles parked on the street were also hit by the gunfire.
No one should have to live like this or be afraid to exit their homes after dark. Unfortunately though it seems that this violence isn't being confined to take place under the cover of darkness.
Today someone walked into a liquor store on Zion Street and pulled a sawed of shotgun from his pants and robbed the business. All in broad daylight, just before noon time, in the shadows of Trinity College.
How do we stem this gun violence in a city that almost seems to have become immune to it? How do we get the young people that are killing each other to realize the value of human life? How do we insist that every resource is being used, State and Federal as well as local to make sure that guns are being removed from our streets?
The answer is not going to be a quick and simple fix but as a community we can not dump the problem on the Police Department. We need to express our outrage and step up to be part of the fix.
I do not want to belittle any homicide or shooting, but take a moment and ask yourself what the level of outrage would be if last nights homicide victim was actually leaving a Cumberland Farms in Avon and was shot dead in the parking lot.It would definitely be more than a voice-over on one channel on the 11 o'clock news or a short blip in the newspaper.
What level of outrage would be shown if a pregnant mother was shot on her porch in Farmington and lost her unborn child?
We need to demand the same level of outrage for our residents as any other resident across the state. First though we have to step up and acknowledge that it is our problem and we need to be part of the solution.
No Lone Ranger type figure is going to ride in to save us from ourselves, we need to save ourselves.
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On another note and off topic, but important for the City;
Councilman hopeful Attorney Thompson Page,the co 1st district spokesperson,who aspires to replace Councilman Matt Ritter this coming January, has recently been sued for personal and professional malpractice.
He also has a grievance hearing at Waterbury Superior Court,300 Grand Street, on 10/5/10 at 10AM. The matter is Stanavage Vs Page,Docket# 10-0109.
Lets hope he owns up to these "issues" as he goes around the Hartford Political System to sell his wares.
This type of violence realistically isn't going to happen in Avon or Farmington. Unfortunately folks in these higher crime neighborhoods tolerate violence because not only are they concerned about retaliation but the criminal is their buddy, relative, neighbor, classmate, etc. These folks know the people who commit all these violent crimes because the sons of b#$% brag and see they can get away with it. Why call the police when you can get revenge on your own with quick results that you want. The rest of the folks are too scared and too tired to do anything. There are good folks living in all of these questionable neighborhoods but unfortunately the bad ones overshadow them. Nothing will change until the folks living in these neighborhoods have decided they have had enough and start taking some kind of action, any kind of action. The folks that care just work as hard as they can so that they can get their families out of these neighborhoods and their children can finally play safely outdoors. It's a damn shame.
But it has not been all peace and calmness. While crime is down, shootings are up, and Segarra is clamoring to state officials about the same issue freqently discussed by Mayor DeStefano in New Haven and Mayor Finch in Bridgeport.
The "prison population, pretty much gets dropped off at our doorstep, sometimes with very little warning and planning only to find out weeks later crimes are being committed by these very same individuals who often times we don't know are arriving in our city," Segarra said.
He pledged Friday to seek more cooperation from the state in dealing with the issue.
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