Ill be attending a candle light vigil tomorrow night. A 15 yr old boy was murdered for his shirt and shoes. I dont know what the real problem is except the mother of this teen is blaming it on strung out and addicted parents. That seems like as good a place to start as any. Two weeks ago it was a pizza delivery guy gunned down in the same neighborhood. Three weeks before that it was another teen hit by a stray bullet. He was in his senior yr looking at his choice of basketball scholarships. Last yr it was a child, a grade school girl sitting at her dining room table doing her homework. She died there by a stray bullet.
Im going tomorrow because Im sick from this. Im also going because Im tired of me, complaining, feeling bad, wishing it wasnt like this, and then never doing anything. I never get involved in the things I think someone should be involved in. Im going to talk with the people that live there. I dont know what Im going to say, but I have to say something.
Help sought in finding Minneapolis boy's killers
A grieving family and Minneapolis police are asking for help in solving the death of a teenager shot over an athletic jersey.
Terry Collins, Star Tribune Last update: September 06, 2006
On Saturday, Courtney Brown attended Bible study class and later that evening shot hoops with his older brother and cousins at a friend's house.
The 15-year-old was on his way home from playing basketball about 9:30 p.m. when, police said, he was shot to death on a north Minneapolis street after a group of boys brandished a gun and demanded his "throwback" blue and orange college basketball jersey and matching sneakers.
He was trying to take off the jersey when he was shot, his aunt said.
"We will hunt you down and find you," Lt. Lee Edwards warned the killers during a news conference Tuesday at the shooting site at Lyndale and Dowling Avs. N. "So it's best that you give yourselves up."
Courtney was the 44th homicide victim this year, and, Edwards said, "he was a good kid."
He was joined by interim Police Chief Tim Dolan and other police and community leaders, who repeatedly called the killing "terrible and senseless" and urged the public -- especially reluctant and possibly scared youths -- to help identify Courtney's killers.
"We plead for the community to try to help us so we can get them off the street," Dolan said, adding that Courtney's death should be felt with the same outrage as the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Michael Zebuhr during a robbery in the trendy Uptown area nearly six months ago.
Courtney would've started his sophomore year Tuesday at Edison High School in northeast Minneapolis. At Edison, students and faculty members were still stunned by the news, Principal Larry Lucio said.
More than a dozen of his friends went to a mall after school to get T-shirts with a picture of Courtney smiling and his nickname, "Midnite."
One classmate said Courtney, who played on the school's freshman basketball team last year, could usually be seen walking around, smiling and joking.
"He was nice and goofy," said La'Clisha Warren, 15, a sophomore. "He can get on your nerves and make you laugh all at the same time."
His aunt, Jacquette Gage, said Courtney, the second-oldest of seven children, was a courteous, God-fearing young man who came from a close-knit, spiritual family.
His mother, who cited her beliefs as a Jehovah's Witness in declining to give her name, offered a more blunt description about her son.
"He was a loving person, not a thug nor a gangbanger," she said. "He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time."
Courtney's older brother, Anthony Brown, told KMSP-TV, Channel 9, that after Courtney was shot, he heard a voice say, "You weren't supposed to shoot him. You were supposed to scare him."
Gage said many of Courtney's friends spent most of Sunday outside his house.
"They were inconsolable," Gage said. "They are just so hurt by what happened. His mother, who is in pain herself, even tried to comfort them."
A gift from his father
Courtney's mother said he and his older brother, Anthony Brown, who also attends Edison, had spent the summer in Iowa with their father, who bought Courtney the jersey.
She said his father was reluctant to buy it at first but relented because Courtney was not a troublesome child.
The vintage jerseys, popularly known as "throwbacks," are replicas that could cost upwards of $400, depending on its design, the player's popularity or its availability.
Athletic jerseys have been cited as at least part of the motive for robberies, burglaries and homicides elsewhere. For example:
• Two men were charged in December 2004 with killing a freshman near Florida's Edward Waters College in what police described as an attempt to steal money and a sports jersey that Johnathan Glenn, 18, was wearing, according to the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville.
• Thieves smashed in the front door of a retail store in Edmonton, Alberta, in March 2005, and made off with up to 30 NFL jerseys, as many as 15 T-shirts and five University of Alberta Golden Bears jerseys, according to the Edmonton Sun newspaper. The thieves didn't touch the cash register, the paper reported.
• In Kansas City, a sports jersey was believed to have caused a disturbance involving about 70 teens and adults at a residence, the Kansas City Star reported in May 2005. That dispute then led to the shooting of a 14-year-old boy and an infant, the newspaper said.
'My brother's been shot'
The Minneapolis shooting has shaken residents around the 3800 block of Lyndale Avenue N.
Drew Homan was moving into a house and coming down the stairs when he heard a kind of muffled pop-pop-pop, he said. Some of his friends out on the street told him that somebody was shot and to call 911.
By the time Homan got outside, he saw the victim on the ground, barely moving. Two other young males stood nearby, one of them crying and yelling, "My brother's been shot!" Homan said.
Officers and paramedics pronounced Courtney dead, eliciting a scream from the brother, Homan said.
A similar cry was soon heard from a woman down the block who was waiting behind the police tape, neighbors said.
"Just to hear her scream, the piercing sound of her voice. ... You can't erase that memory," neighbor Pamela Christopher said.
Courtney's mother issued a warning to other parents who are raising well-behaved kids.
"Keep a close watch on them, because those other kids whose parents are strung out on drugs are killing the good ones," she said.
His mother said she knows he's in a better place.
"I will see him again," she said.
Police asked those with information to call 612-962-TIPS or the homicide unit at 612-673-2941.
Staff writer Tom Ford and researcher Jim Phillips contributed to this report. Terry Collins
Another One Bites The Dust
Another One Bites The Dust
I AM AWESOME MAN
Another One Bites The Dust
how utterly tragic. thugs with guns, i am sick of it. recently 2 little girls, in separate incidents, were killed by stray bullets while in their own homes. 
Another One Bites The Dust
Nomad, you are a noble man, I think that we should ALL speak out about sensless violence. We need more people like you the world over.
I am glad to call you my friend.
I am glad to call you my friend.
Behaviour breeds behaviour - treat people how you would like to be treated yourself
Another One Bites The Dust
Im sick of it !
Something is really very wrong here.
People need to scream and yell that this is ****ing unacceptable
These feral predatory children punks are just roaming the streets freely
We need to march into city hall and slam our ****ing hands down on the mayors desk and hold him accountable
The police should be swarming this neighborhood
There should be a curfew...whatever it ****ing takes !
Something is really very wrong here.
People need to scream and yell that this is ****ing unacceptable
These feral predatory children punks are just roaming the streets freely
We need to march into city hall and slam our ****ing hands down on the mayors desk and hold him accountable
The police should be swarming this neighborhood
There should be a curfew...whatever it ****ing takes !
I AM AWESOME MAN
Another One Bites The Dust
Nomad wrote: Im sick of it !
Something is really very wrong here.
People need to scream and yell that this is ****ing unacceptable
These feral predatory children punks are just roaming the streets freely
We need to march into city hall and slam our ****ing hands down on the mayors desk and hold him accountable
The police should be swarming this neighborhood
There should be a curfew...whatever it ****ing takes !
It's called zero tollerance.
A strong police presence on the street for a start.
CCTV cameras in prominent locations
Anyone found carrying a gun or a knife or dusters or any other weapon straight into court for sentencing
Anyone seen causing or threatening violence straight into court for sentencing
Serious sentences for those found guilty.
Provision of facilities for the kids as an alternative to being on the street
Youth workers to help and advise those kids who need it
Something is really very wrong here.
People need to scream and yell that this is ****ing unacceptable
These feral predatory children punks are just roaming the streets freely
We need to march into city hall and slam our ****ing hands down on the mayors desk and hold him accountable
The police should be swarming this neighborhood
There should be a curfew...whatever it ****ing takes !
It's called zero tollerance.
A strong police presence on the street for a start.
CCTV cameras in prominent locations
Anyone found carrying a gun or a knife or dusters or any other weapon straight into court for sentencing
Anyone seen causing or threatening violence straight into court for sentencing
Serious sentences for those found guilty.
Provision of facilities for the kids as an alternative to being on the street
Youth workers to help and advise those kids who need it
Another One Bites The Dust
This is one avenue Im considering
'Guardian Angels' Hit The Streets Of Minneapolis
(WCCO) Minneapolis Guardian angels are watching over two popular destinations in the Twin Cities this weekend.
The crime-fighting group is here to help, after a pair of high-profile murders in Minneapolis.
Just last month, a mugger shot Michael Zebuhr in Uptown.
Then another gunman fired into a downtown crowd, killing Al Reitter.
Those random attacks led to citizen patrols in Uptown and a call from the public for help from the Guardian Angels.
The Guardian Angels seem to be getting the red carpet treatment on their impromptu visit to Minneapolis.
They are sometimes considered controversial and not welcomed, but not this time. They could barely go even a block without someone wanting to shake hands.
Curtis Sliwa and his group are here on a sort of fact-finding mission. They patrolled the streets of Minneapolis back in the 1980s.
Now they're back to see if this is the right time to start up again here in the Twin Cities.
“On occasion we'll physically detain somebody if we witness a crime in progress, but mostly it's deterrents. Nobody's going to commit crimes in our presence," said Sliwa.
The Guardian Angels are all volunteer and unarmed, so for their own safety they always travel in groups of four or more.
"I think they'll do wonderful if the citizens come out and they rally the support they need, which they need to come out and support these guys, they'll do wonderful things, said Minneapolis Resident David Alvarado.
Interim Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan said he does want to hear about what they think and what they see.
“I'm looking for all the help I can get," said Dolan.
The group is trying to recruit and restart a chapter here after getting numerous calls and e-mails from residents who were fed up about crime.
The trip is to gauge interest. The Guardian Angels will meet up with some of their former members to see if they'll come out of retirement to don a red beret again.
'Guardian Angels' Hit The Streets Of Minneapolis
(WCCO) Minneapolis Guardian angels are watching over two popular destinations in the Twin Cities this weekend.
The crime-fighting group is here to help, after a pair of high-profile murders in Minneapolis.
Just last month, a mugger shot Michael Zebuhr in Uptown.
Then another gunman fired into a downtown crowd, killing Al Reitter.
Those random attacks led to citizen patrols in Uptown and a call from the public for help from the Guardian Angels.
The Guardian Angels seem to be getting the red carpet treatment on their impromptu visit to Minneapolis.
They are sometimes considered controversial and not welcomed, but not this time. They could barely go even a block without someone wanting to shake hands.
Curtis Sliwa and his group are here on a sort of fact-finding mission. They patrolled the streets of Minneapolis back in the 1980s.
Now they're back to see if this is the right time to start up again here in the Twin Cities.
“On occasion we'll physically detain somebody if we witness a crime in progress, but mostly it's deterrents. Nobody's going to commit crimes in our presence," said Sliwa.
The Guardian Angels are all volunteer and unarmed, so for their own safety they always travel in groups of four or more.
"I think they'll do wonderful if the citizens come out and they rally the support they need, which they need to come out and support these guys, they'll do wonderful things, said Minneapolis Resident David Alvarado.
Interim Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan said he does want to hear about what they think and what they see.
“I'm looking for all the help I can get," said Dolan.
The group is trying to recruit and restart a chapter here after getting numerous calls and e-mails from residents who were fed up about crime.
The trip is to gauge interest. The Guardian Angels will meet up with some of their former members to see if they'll come out of retirement to don a red beret again.
I AM AWESOME MAN
Another One Bites The Dust
flopstock wrote: There is no longer a consequence for actions. Nothing will be done to these kids as an example to other kids.
I know that if my kid had ever come home with new shoes or a $400 jersey, they'd have some explaining to do once they picked them self up off the floor.
I think it's time we did away with time outs and started teaching our children that for socially unacceptable behavior there is an immediate adverse reward visited upon them.
They need to get it into their heads that if they can't do right for rights sake, they'd best be doing right to save their own ass.
I see it all the bloody time where I work, anti social behaviour by kids (and adults). It really winds me up!! I always ask myself: "Do their parents know what they are up to?" I don't think half of them do, or care for that matter.
I know that if my kid had ever come home with new shoes or a $400 jersey, they'd have some explaining to do once they picked them self up off the floor.
I think it's time we did away with time outs and started teaching our children that for socially unacceptable behavior there is an immediate adverse reward visited upon them.
They need to get it into their heads that if they can't do right for rights sake, they'd best be doing right to save their own ass.
I see it all the bloody time where I work, anti social behaviour by kids (and adults). It really winds me up!! I always ask myself: "Do their parents know what they are up to?" I don't think half of them do, or care for that matter.
Behaviour breeds behaviour - treat people how you would like to be treated yourself
Another One Bites The Dust
This sort of thing never ceases to amaze me..
What sort of person has been brought up to be able to so freely destroy someone else’s life?
The free access to firearms in the US makes it much easier to kill someone of course, but even without the guns in the UK this could happen, albeit with a knife
What sort of person has been brought up to be able to so freely destroy someone else’s life?
The free access to firearms in the US makes it much easier to kill someone of course, but even without the guns in the UK this could happen, albeit with a knife
Another One Bites The Dust
The problem is a great % of these thugs are on their own. No dad and mom is working two jobs because shes making min wage. No one is home. The gangs become family.
I AM AWESOME MAN
Another One Bites The Dust
woppy71 wrote: I see it all the bloody time where I work, anti social behaviour by kids (and adults). It really winds me up!! I always ask myself: "Do their parents know what they are up to?" I don't think half of them do, or care for that matter.
When they get to that age (17 - 18 for the perps) it's difficult to keep tabs on them 24/7.
It's the leniency with which it's treated when detected that worries me.
When they get to that age (17 - 18 for the perps) it's difficult to keep tabs on them 24/7.
It's the leniency with which it's treated when detected that worries me.
Another One Bites The Dust
Over here, I do think that fast track is the answer, where people who are arrested are rapidly put through the court system, and the vast delay in the time it takes to prosecute someone is severely reduced. I think it's a great detterent if people knew that they could be tried and convicted within weeks or days. I think we need to make sure that all the procedures are in place, and thoroughly thought out before it is put into operation.
I also think that addressing problem behaviour at the earliest possible opportunity is vital.
I also think that addressing problem behaviour at the earliest possible opportunity is vital.
Behaviour breeds behaviour - treat people how you would like to be treated yourself
Another One Bites The Dust
Bryn Mawr wrote: When they get to that age (17 - 18 for the perps) it's difficult to keep tabs on them 24/7.
It's the leniency with which it's treated when detected that worries me.
I dont know what the answer is but I love my city so Im jumping in.
It's the leniency with which it's treated when detected that worries me.
I dont know what the answer is but I love my city so Im jumping in.
I AM AWESOME MAN
Another One Bites The Dust
flopstock wrote: Except that there ARE kids in identical situations that don't take that route.
The real problem is that we keep coming up with excuses for this kind of behavior. It's horrible, BUT.....
But bullsh!t, IMO. There is no excuse, no explanations that should be thrown around and analyzed to death... enough of that already!
Some things are just wrong and I don't give a rats ass if someone made you go to bed without supper once when you were seven and it's coming back and causing you to act out now... tough!
Thousands of other kids in the same neighborhood, are suffering the same existence...yet choosing NOT to do these things
Absolutely agree!!
The real problem is that we keep coming up with excuses for this kind of behavior. It's horrible, BUT.....
But bullsh!t, IMO. There is no excuse, no explanations that should be thrown around and analyzed to death... enough of that already!
Some things are just wrong and I don't give a rats ass if someone made you go to bed without supper once when you were seven and it's coming back and causing you to act out now... tough!
Thousands of other kids in the same neighborhood, are suffering the same existence...yet choosing NOT to do these things
Absolutely agree!!
Behaviour breeds behaviour - treat people how you would like to be treated yourself
Another One Bites The Dust
flopstock wrote: Except that there ARE kids in identical situations that don't take that route.
The real problem is that we keep coming up with excuses for this kind of behavior. It's horrible, BUT.....
But bullsh!t, IMO. There is no excuse, no explanations that should be thrown around and analyzed to death... enough of that already!
Some things are just wrong and I don't give a rats ass if someone made you go to bed without supper once when you were seven and it's coming back and causing you to act out now... tough!
Thousands of other kids in the same neighborhood, are suffering the same existence...yet choosing NOT to do these things
Your right. If a 15 yr old is walking around with a gun he needs to be removed. The parents need to be held accountable as well. So does the mayoral office and the police dept.
Quite frankly the whole damned city should be held accountable in the sense that this city is our home...you will not stalk my home any more !!!
The real problem is that we keep coming up with excuses for this kind of behavior. It's horrible, BUT.....
But bullsh!t, IMO. There is no excuse, no explanations that should be thrown around and analyzed to death... enough of that already!
Some things are just wrong and I don't give a rats ass if someone made you go to bed without supper once when you were seven and it's coming back and causing you to act out now... tough!
Thousands of other kids in the same neighborhood, are suffering the same existence...yet choosing NOT to do these things
Your right. If a 15 yr old is walking around with a gun he needs to be removed. The parents need to be held accountable as well. So does the mayoral office and the police dept.
Quite frankly the whole damned city should be held accountable in the sense that this city is our home...you will not stalk my home any more !!!
I AM AWESOME MAN
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chonsigirl
- Posts: 33633
- Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2005 8:28 am
Another One Bites The Dust
Nomad, good for you that you are going to speak out and take a stand on these senseless murders. :-1
I cry when it is the good ones killed, who did nothing at all. They murdered one of my students from my first year here in June, stuffed him down a chimney of the elementary school. For what? A few bucks, it was on video tape at the convenience store he stopped at. His poor little sister is in my class this year, and lays her head down and cries over it still. The whole class gets up and hugs her, we love her so already. But it will not bring back her brother, who was a good kid. I do not understand killing someone for nothing.
You are a good man, Nomad. You speak up, and say what is in your heart.
I cry when it is the good ones killed, who did nothing at all. They murdered one of my students from my first year here in June, stuffed him down a chimney of the elementary school. For what? A few bucks, it was on video tape at the convenience store he stopped at. His poor little sister is in my class this year, and lays her head down and cries over it still. The whole class gets up and hugs her, we love her so already. But it will not bring back her brother, who was a good kid. I do not understand killing someone for nothing.
You are a good man, Nomad. You speak up, and say what is in your heart.
Another One Bites The Dust
Ahhh so many others feel the same but we dont know what to do. My niece was dating the brother of a kid who killed his parents because they were strict. His whole family wiped out in an instant.
I AM AWESOME MAN
Another One Bites The Dust
Just gut wrenching and sad. :-1 :-1 Nomad your doing the right thing to get involved as a member of the community it is our duty to get involved. Killed for your shirt and shoes how senseless, how awful, how utterly tragic.
We have neighborhood watch here and it is very effective we report everything we see. I have lived in this neighborhood for over 33 years I know most of the kids that walk down the street, some are great kids mannerly, other are just bullies with nasty mouths that know better than to get in my face.
I have stepped in many a time to break up a fight that has started across the street at the store or behind the store, or in the street behind my Apartment building. I'm not afraid of them and they know it. I'm fair and give them a chance to stop fighting or pay the piper when I call the police. Most of the time they are fighting over drugs or booze and they are all of 13 or 14 or younger, just makes you sad.
But a community can help, and should help this is my neighborhood and no thugs are going to take it over.
Nomad your doing the right thing people need to be involved in their neighborhoods and your doing that I commend you for stepping up to the plate.
We have neighborhood watch here and it is very effective we report everything we see. I have lived in this neighborhood for over 33 years I know most of the kids that walk down the street, some are great kids mannerly, other are just bullies with nasty mouths that know better than to get in my face.
I have stepped in many a time to break up a fight that has started across the street at the store or behind the store, or in the street behind my Apartment building. I'm not afraid of them and they know it. I'm fair and give them a chance to stop fighting or pay the piper when I call the police. Most of the time they are fighting over drugs or booze and they are all of 13 or 14 or younger, just makes you sad.
But a community can help, and should help this is my neighborhood and no thugs are going to take it over.
Nomad your doing the right thing people need to be involved in their neighborhoods and your doing that I commend you for stepping up to the plate.
ALOHA!!
MOTTO TO LIVE BY:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, champagne in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming.
WOO HOO!!, what a ride!!!"
MOTTO TO LIVE BY:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, champagne in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming.
WOO HOO!!, what a ride!!!"
-
Accountable
- Posts: 24818
- Joined: Mon May 30, 2005 8:33 am
Another One Bites The Dust
Nomad wrote: Ill be attending a candle light vigil tomorrow night. A 15 yr old boy was murdered for his shirt and shoes. I dont know what the real problem is except the mother of this teen is blaming it on strung out and addicted parents. That seems like as good a place to start as any. Two weeks ago it was a pizza delivery guy gunned down in the same neighborhood. Three weeks before that it was another teen hit by a stray bullet. He was in his senior yr looking at his choice of basketball scholarships. Last yr it was a child, a grade school girl sitting at her dining room table doing her homework. She died there by a stray bullet.
Im going tomorrow because Im sick from this. Im also going because Im tired of me, complaining, feeling bad, wishing it wasnt like this, and then never doing anything. I never get involved in the things I think someone should be involved in. Im going to talk with the people that live there. I dont know what Im going to say, but I have to say something.I've never felt prouder of you than now. People crave leadership. They don't need leaders who look like leaders and act like idiots. They need leaders that know and accept their flaws, but stand up anyway because, well, somebody needs to. People relate to such a person, and are more likely to act with him in front.
The Guardian Angels idea is a great one, imo, as is neighborhood watch (the real ones, anyway).
But you're right. Stand up and say something. It doesn't matter what, at first. I'll bet that when you do, others will speak up too. That's when an idea will gel, I can feel it.
I'm in your corner, brother.
Im going tomorrow because Im sick from this. Im also going because Im tired of me, complaining, feeling bad, wishing it wasnt like this, and then never doing anything. I never get involved in the things I think someone should be involved in. Im going to talk with the people that live there. I dont know what Im going to say, but I have to say something.I've never felt prouder of you than now. People crave leadership. They don't need leaders who look like leaders and act like idiots. They need leaders that know and accept their flaws, but stand up anyway because, well, somebody needs to. People relate to such a person, and are more likely to act with him in front.
The Guardian Angels idea is a great one, imo, as is neighborhood watch (the real ones, anyway).
But you're right. Stand up and say something. It doesn't matter what, at first. I'll bet that when you do, others will speak up too. That's when an idea will gel, I can feel it.
I'm in your corner, brother.
Another One Bites The Dust
DITTO..!! :-4
[QUOTE]Okay Nomad, where the heck are you??
I'm sitting here all night worried sick that the big kids on the playground hung you by your suspenders from the flagpole, for gods sake!!
Tell me you're okay![/QUOTE]
[QUOTE]Okay Nomad, where the heck are you??
I'm sitting here all night worried sick that the big kids on the playground hung you by your suspenders from the flagpole, for gods sake!!
Tell me you're okay![/QUOTE]
ALOHA!!
MOTTO TO LIVE BY:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, champagne in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming.
WOO HOO!!, what a ride!!!"
MOTTO TO LIVE BY:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, champagne in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming.
WOO HOO!!, what a ride!!!"
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CheshireCat
- Posts: 1550
- Joined: Tue Jun 06, 2006 10:15 am
Another One Bites The Dust
CARLA wrote: DITTO..!! :-4
ME TOO! Hasn't posted since Wed. night!
I'm worried! Hope you're ok Nomie!
ME TOO! Hasn't posted since Wed. night!
I'm worried! Hope you're ok Nomie!
"My body is the earth but my head is in the stars."
God Bless BR!!!
God Bless BR!!!