More British Anti-Gang measures...

OK, this is a bit old, but...

Put down the guns and pick up the hankey!

Illinois Gun Violence Tragedy

This was so tragic, so unnecessary, so avoidable.  We should do a better job of ensuring that someone like this is never allowed access to weapons, any weapons, ever again.
From HuffPo:
Miguel Hernandez, Elgin Gang Member, Charged In Murder Of 5-Year-Old Boy (VIDEO)
First Posted: 10/15/11 02:10 PM ET Updated: 10/15/11 02:13 PM ET

Miguel Hernandez Jr. has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of 5-year-old Elgin boy Eric Galarza Jr. The shooting is believed by authorities to be gang-related.

An Elgin man police say is a known gang member has been charged and ordered held without bail in the shooting death of 5-year-old Eric Galarza Jr. Miguel Hernandez Jr. was charged Friday with first-degree murder after he allegedly shot Galarza Jr. on Oct. 7. Elgin Police Chief Jeff Swoboda said in a statement, as reported by the Chicago Tribune, that the investigation into the shooting was greatly helped by the northwest suburban village's community."The Elgin community provided multiple leads that helped lead to this arrest," Swoboda said. "Within one week, Elgin's gang unit has been able to arrest and charge the man responsible for this tragic incident."
Galarza Jr. was shot in the head while sitting in the back seat of his family's car as it backed out of the driveway of his family's Elgin home, located in the 900 block of Elma Avenue, at 7 p.m. that day. His mother, father, aunt and two siblings were also in the car at the time of the shooting, though no one was else was injured in the incident.
While the police investigation into the shooting is ongoing, sources told the Chicago Sun-Times that revenge for a prior shooting may have been the motive for the murder. Police believe another person in the car was specifically targeted.
As the Daily Herald reports, Galarza's father, Eric, has a criminal history dating back over a decade, to 2000, when he was sentenced to nine years in jail after he plead guilty to aggravated discharge of a firearm. He has done jail time on two other charges since then and is expected in court on Nov. 3 on a pending charge of aggravated battery with great bodily harm.
Hernandez is slated to appear in court on the charge of murdering Galarza Jr. in Rolling Meadows that same day.
Wednesday, over 200 mourners packed Elgin's St. Joseph Catholic Church for Galarza Jr.'s funeral. As TribLocal reports, Father Adalberto Sanchez told the standing-room only crowd at the memorial, "Sometimes we act without thinking and the consequences of our actions are this, the death of an innocent."
Elgin Police have asked anyone with additional information on the shooting to come forward via the department's anonymous tip line at (847) 695-4195. Tips may also be shared on the department's website.

Where Gang Violence Meets Domestic Violence Against Women

The Local Fox News reports on a shooting by a "family member" which left one woman dead and her sister wounded.

A longtime community activist sees the shooting as endemic of the scourge of street gangs and their influence in the area. Larry Ligas, Chairman of Logan Square Concerned Citizens, said he believes the gunman is a member of a local street gang that police have been working to eradicate.

The block the shooting took place on and in particular the building where it occurred was a location that has “kept coming up” in meetings with other community residents, police and elected officials about neighborhood violence, he said.

“The gangs are getting mean, and organized to protect what little turf they have left,” Ligas said. “Even if it means shooting their own family members. They aren’t above shooting their own family members. Their gang comes first -- before their own family.”

If the gang explanation is true, the fact that she was a woman in incidental to the story. But gun availibility is always part of it, don't you think?

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