Tuesday, September 24

Child Homicides

Lincoln Heights - Child Bloodletting
by Earl Carrington for LH Magazine
September 24, 2013 | Cincinnati, Ohio


As the summer fizzles to a close, Valentino handbags, Burberry cashmere coats, and Adriana Arsini broches, jostle for position on the Fall streets of downtown Cincinnati. Black-and-orange-faced football fans hustle through crosswalks, littered with last night's ‘Reds Baseball’ ticket stubs. Just 15 miles North of the opulent atmosphere of Saks Fifth Avenue and Paul Brown Stadium, the streets look very different.


In the small village of Lincoln Heights Ohio, the streets are oxidized brown with the blood of children! Just one stroll, perhaps a brisk walk, better yet - a quick drive, down the pothole-riddled courts of the village, one can’t help but notice the numerous teddy bear shrines. Seventeen year old Keyshawn Wilson is the latest victim to rest in the cold still air of the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office, shot dead by unknown assailants. Rumors abound as to the identity of the perpetrators. Like so many of the violent crimes facing Police Chief Conroy Chance, a mother is left confused and distraught. A community struggles to make sense and cope. This death has left the community at large unusually outraged. The community’s social media is abuzz with RIP send offs, and anger-laden rants toward the killer(s). Citizens have taken to the streets gathering their own intel, as their patience for justice thins.


Many are left wondering if village administrators and authorities have grown callous and indifferent to the myriad of homicides. Just three weeks earlier, a young two year old boy was shot in the leg as he watched the driver of the vehicle he occupied bolt and abandon him. And it’s not just the victims who are children. Among the conjecture and rumor, and the few cases that do end in prosecution, often times the perpetrators are young adults under the age of 25. Earlier this year, owner/operator of one the village’s oldest pony kegs (Our Corner), was the victim of an apparent assassination attempt. When witnesses helped authorities develop a composite drawing of the shooter, none were too shocked to see the face of a barely-shaving-age male.


Villager’s have grown impatient. One of them asks, “what are the police doin’? Nobody ever get caught or go to jail for these babies gettin’ killed.” Some are curious as to how village managers are overseeing police investigations. Are the officer’s being continuously trained? For example, many small communities around the U.S. routinely send their officers to larger cities to learn how they do things, gaining critical insight to how best to maximize their own resources and talents. Are monies being allocated for training specific to homicide related crimes? LHM tried to contact Village Manager - Stephanie Summerow Dumas - to answer some of these questions. Not surprisingly,  L.H. Magazine is still awaiting comment. The village has no website, and has held no press conferences or townhall meetings with respect to this latest round of shootings.


Much of the citizenry are ready to dismiss the village’s unique status as one of the country’s last remaining black governed cooperatives, suggesting that Hamilton County take over. The argument being that the county would lend larger resources, better trained staff, and a more thorough oversight function. For most, the innumerable incidents of violent and drug related crimes occurring in a footprint totalling less than one square mile, is costing too much. In the end, the children are perhaps paying the largest price for the seemingly arrogant claim to, “black-owned, black-ran”.


Earl Carrington, can be reached at: cinscore@gmail.com or at (937) 736-0829


References

Baker, J. E. (2013, September 23). Princeton senior shot on Sunday has died. Cincinnati.com, p. 01. Retrieved from http://http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20130923/NEWS/309230059/


Kiefaber , A., & Tweh, B. (2013, August 31). Police: 2-year-old boy injured in shooting.Cincinnati.com, p. 01. Retrieved from http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20130830/NEWS0107/308300097/&nclick_check=1

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