For starters, it's cold, naturally, since it's January. It's been bitter cold. And then there has been the ice and/or snow, at times.
And yet--secondly--the shootings and killings continue.
What the heck?
Aren't the killings and shootings supposed to stop in this cold, dark time of the year?
You would think so.
They used to.
They should, still, too.
But check it out --last night, according to Alonzo Washington and his local blog, there were 6 people shot in the metropolitan area last night.
That's insane.
And though last year was bad in this city, for murders, we're at 8 killings right now, compared to 6 at this time last year. (Thanks to Ernest Evans for this information).
I, along with other bloggers, have been writing about this time and again.
Somehow, we need to solve this problem, as a city. We need to get a handle on this.
Really, if we can have 6 people shot on a Saturday night in January, how many will it be in June, July and August, when temperatures are so much higher?
Then, third, for what's going on in town, I went to The Kansas City Star's website just now (mid-morning Sunday) and do you think anything is there about these shootings and murders in town last night?
I searched a few pages and found nothing. Nada.
So the local newspaper isn't even covering this.
That's stunning.
Finally, then, for events of the city, it's been reported that cars are getting broken into in the Crossroads District, downtown. It's happened, apparently, at least twice.
It happens--and has been happening--frequently, right on the Plaza. I know it happens all too frequently on the East side of the Plaza, over by the Board of Trade, at minimum. So it's occuring in some of the most prized real estate in town, as well as downtown, at minimum. (Admittedly, I don't know how you stop this kind of quick, stupid "smash and grab" crime but you have to think something's got to be done.)
If the Mayor or City Council or other leaders in town think this city is in control, it seems they're mistaken.
Possibly badly mistaken.
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Mid-day update: at 1:30 pm today, Sunday, I see the Star has updated their online page and there are 2 stories about the shootings. Hoo-rah.
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4 comments:
The victims don't care enough to cooperate with the police so why should anyone else care?
okay, people ask this question again and again, and I'll tell you why. We need to attack this problem and solve it as a community because the next person shot and/or killed could be you or me or your Mom or Dad or sister or best friend.
There was a young, intelligent, hard-working, happy young man of 24
who was walking home from UMKC in the last couple of months and for what was apparently total random pointlessness, he was shot and killed.
There was a cook for a Westport restaurant, walking there and the same thing happened to him.
Neither of these incidents were "middle of the night", like the shooting this weekend (Sat. night/Sun. morning on SW Blvd at the Mexican food truck).
This hasn't contained itself and, without getting too excited or emotional or "end of the world" on us here, it can at least spread and get still worse and more widespread, random and stupid.
That's why.
We need to fight the ignorance and stupidity with intelligence and cohesion.
Dear Mr. Kevin: Thanks for this posting on the city's crime situation. Starting in 2007, most cities in the US began having sharp declines in homicide rates--in 2009 several cities like NYC recorded their lowest totals since homicide stats first began being kept. KCMO is one of the very few cities in the country that had more murders in both 2008 and 2009 than in 2007--and we appear to be on the track to do it again. So, "KCMO, we have a problem"--Denial is not the name of a river in Egypt. Sincerely and Respectfully, Ernest Evans
I was appalled at the lack of coverage of the shootings Saturday night/Sunday morning, especially by the Kansas City Star.
If we do not know about it, we cannot work on the problem of violent crime in Kansas City.
Posted on it today myself,finally, as I usually don't blog on Sunday, but I have been irate since Sunday morning.
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