Activists call out Chicago politicians following fatal North Lawndale shooting
A 2-year-old boy and a 26-year-old man were killed in a barrage of bullets in an alley near North Lawndale Tuesday. It was recorded on Facebook Live from the account of the surviving party — a pregnant woman who was shot in the abdomen.
The unborn child lived, but Lavontay White, the toddler sitting in the backseat, saw his last day. White, shot in the head, was resuscitated briefly on the scene but died at Stroger Hospital Tuesday afternoon, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Earlier in the day, Takiya Holmes, an 11-year-old girl, died from wounds suffered in a South Side drive-by shooting on Saturday.
Activists and concerned community members have grown tired with city officials and their inability to soothe Chicago’s violence. Community leaders Ja’Mal Green and Willie Round (Prince Roc) addressed the media and pleaded for change within our communities and politics.
“Residents, stop working that 9–5 and going home and being selfish to the issues around you until a killer hits your kid,” Green said. “Don’t wait for it to hit home, it hits home right now. That 2-year-old was your 2-year-old. Get involved.”
As of Wednesday morning, visits from federal agents have been scheduled in the upcoming weeks. According to WGN, representatives of the justice department will look to assist police in eradicating street violence and reforming the department, which was cited in using excessive force against minorities last month.
President Trump has insisted that he will send in the feds if city officials cannot produce results.
