Posted on 06/27/2006 12:37:23 PM PDT by SmithL
MEMPHIS — Relatives, friends and community activists are calling for an end to violence that left an 11-year-old boy dead last week and a 13-year-old girl clinging to life after being shot in the head Monday.
Melissa Robertson was struck by a bullet about 5 p.m. at a park in the Binghamton area of Memphis, police said. She was in extremely critical condition and on life support Monday night at Regional Medical Center.
Robertson was struck by a bullet fired by one of two groups that had been arguing at the park, said Lt. Toney Armstrong with the department’s homicide division.
"One group got into a vehicle and shots were fired from the car," he said. "The 13-year-old girl was hit in the head by shots fired."
Shortly after Robertson was shot, a 5-year-old girl riding in a van with her family was struck in the leg by another bullet in north Memphis. She was treat at the Med in non-critical condition.
Both shootings came after Martez Henderson, 11, was killed by a stray bullet while on a playground Thursday. His 4-year-old cousin, Donterrious Taylor, was also hit in the arm and survived.
On Monday police said they had arrested a suspect in Henderson’s death. Montrel Javon Gilliam, 18, is charged with first-degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder.
Police said Gilliam had been firing shots at a vehicle when three of the bullets struck Henderson in the torso and another hit his cousin.
The shootings mark the sixth time this year children in the Memphis area have been injured or killed by stray gunfire.
Jakira Lewis, 2, died April 20 after being shot in her mother’s arms during a drive-by shooting outside a public housing complex near downtown Memphis.
Last month, 12-year-old Dewawn Matthews injured when he was hit once in the chest by a stray shot from a .22-caliber pistol fired in an argument outside his home.
On Monday, about seven members of Memphis Movement, a group of rappers and other music professionals calling for an end to violence, gathered at the park where Robertson was shot. They also gathered Thursday in front of the apartments where Henderson was shot.
"Here we are again. Just tell me when it’s going to stop," said a rapper who goes by the handle Scat Cat. "When?"
"No, I don’t let my kids go to that park," Binghamton resident Carolyn Graham said. "I know the parks are for children, but not over here. It is just not safe."
The community needs to fix it's own problems. I simply don't care.
"...a rapper who goes by the handle Scat Cat."
Why would someone name himself after cat poop?
Scat Cat, if you wait for someone else to tell you when it's going to stop, it's never going to stop. It'll stop when you start to do something about it.
Mr. Cat, do you have any kids? Are they all by the same woman? Are you married to her? Are you a father to your kids on a live-in basis, or just on a drop-in basis (if at all)?
I am finished trying to be politically correct....
What color are these people...?
the same as the ones shooting it up in New Orleans?
The same as the ones shooting it up in Las Vegas?
Detroit?
DC
I am sorry..they as a people have everything handed to them on a silver platter...and they RAPPED it away...
Well, I for one will send along prayers for these little children who are hurt or killed through no fault of their own. The adults on the other hand....
Good black people get a bad rap (no pun intended) by these thugs.
There are a bit more than 2 million people in US prisons. The other day I caught myself thinking how much better off society would be if we executed almost everyone who was convicted of a crime. Close the prisons. Fine 'em or hang 'em. And I thought "The fining can start in the future, but for now, let's hang 95% of the people currently in prison."
I came to my senses and decided that this would NOT be a good idea. But, Lord, I am tired of the trash.
That's just offal......
At least this sort of tom-foolery won't be occurring after the UN takes away our guns!
They are the VERMIN!!!!!!!
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