In the United States, children are increasingly being killed in shootings: who were and what the victims dreamed about

13-year-old Amaria Jones was in the living room of her home on the West Side of Chicago showing her mom a new Tik Tok dance when a stray bullet went through the front window, pierced the girl's neck and stuck on the TV. On the street, random bullets also injured boys 15 and 16 years old, sitting on the porch of the house. Amaria was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead, writes USA Today.

Photo: Shutterstock

“Imagine having a 13-year-old sister who hasn’t even started living yet, and you have to dress her for a memorial service. You have to choose her clothes, style her hair, choose a coffin. You have to choose the photos,” says 27-year-old Mercedes Jones. “I just don’t want to come to terms with reality.” My sister is no more."

Amaria's heartbreaking death was one of many during a bloody summer season across the country. Shootings have escalated in several cities amid social and economic upheaval caused by a public health crisis and a movement calling for racial justice — and children are increasingly caught in the crossfire.

Her sister said that Amaria dreamed of becoming a lawyer: “She would fight for what she thought was right.”

Amaria Jones. Photo: video frame YouTube / CBS Chicago

Children die in the streets

Amaria was one of 12 minors shot to death in Chicago last month - many of them playing outside, riding in a car or sitting on a couch - and many more were wounded.

Three-year-old Mechi James was killed two hours earlier than Amaria, about a mile from her home. He was sitting in the back seat of his father's car on the way home from the hairdresser. That weekend, 104 people were shot dead in Chicago, 15 of them fatally, including three more minors. Dozens of others were shot and killed over the next weekend.

“Children are dying on the streets for the fourth weekend in a row,” said Pastor Marshall Hatch, who attended several funerals. “There is something tragically wrong with what we do and what we value.” People are depressed about it - that's what it's led to."

A portrait of James' Mech in the hands of protesters. Photo: video frame YouTube / CBS Chicago

Chicago's deadliest weekend came in late May amid protests and robberies, in which 85 people were shot and killed, 24 of them killed.

Overall crime rates - including violent crimes - are low in the US, but homicide rates are rising this year in Chicago, New York, Atlanta, the District of Columbia, Philadelphia, Houston, Charlotte (North Carolina), Denver, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Kansas City (Missouri).

July 13, when the country's largest city for the first time in several months noted the absence of deaths from COVID-19 for 24 hours, New York honored with a minute of silence the one-year-old Davell Gardner Jr., who was mortally wounded in the stomach, sitting in a stroller on a picnic in Brooklyn the day before in the evening.

“You can never look away from something like this and be callous about it,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference. “We will never be able to give up on our children.”

According to police, as of July 5, the number of shootings increased by 53% compared with the same period last year in New York.

In Atlanta, where 8-year-old Seoria Turner was fatally injured on Independence Day, gunfire cases are up 23% from last year, police said.

In Chicago, according to police, cases of shooting increased by 46% compared with the same period last year.

On the subject: 160 people were killed and 500 wounded on holidays in the United States: there are children among the victims

"Davon won't be there"

In Washington, DC, where the killing of 11-year-old Dawon McNeill shocked the entire city, the number of killings increased by 24% compared to the same period last year, and the number of attacks with dangerous weapons increased by 1%, according to police. The boy was shot while getting out of his mother's car. At this time, the two groups fired at each other.

"Davon was in the middle and he got shot," said the boy's grandfather, John Ayala. “There are times when you want to break down.” But I hold on because I have to.”

According to Ayala, Daewon was a star footballer. He started playing when he was 6 years old. The boy dreamed of playing in the NHL and buying a big house for his mother.

“He learned at a young age how to be a role model,” Ayala said.

Ayala and his wife planned to take Davon and the other grandchildren on a yearly trip to Orlando that fateful weekend, but canceled the trip due to the pandemic.

“Our 8-year-old granddaughter was crying, saying the next time we go on a trip, Davon won’t be there,” Ayala said.

Collage with a portrait of Davon McNeill. Photo: video frame YouTube / WUSA9

The rise in gun violence is the result of three main factors: the typical spike in summer shooting, the coronavirus pandemic, and nationwide social unrest, researchers say.

Violence predominantly affects African American and Latino children and adolescents. About 3000 children and adolescents receive gunshot wounds every year, according to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control's web system. Black children and adolescents, in particular, are 14 times more likely than their white counterparts to die in gun homicide, the researchers said.

“There is stress everywhere now. People stay at home. People don't work. Social unrest occurs. All of this can lead to a worsening epidemic problem, and that's what's happening with violence, said Charlie Ransford, director of science and policy at Cure Violence, a Chicago-based nonprofit group fighting gun violence. “This is a contagious problem.”

Demetris Whately, a South Side Chicago activist with CureViolence, says the violence has affected his family as well. His 14-year-old niece received gunshot wounds to the arm and thigh while standing at the bus stop with friends. Whateley's 22-year-old nephew was wounded in both arms with broken bones.

Waitley believes that the closure of parks, beaches, bars and clubs due to the pandemic forces people to spend more time outdoors, in a quarter where it is easier to find and identify targets for shelling.

"It's about social inequality"

The pandemic has exacerbated the root causes of gun violence, such as income inequality, said Hatch, the West Side pastor. Violence is “the desperation and depravity that comes with being less valued and less invested in.”

Data analysis showed that in Chicago and across the country, the coronavirus disproportionately affected low-income communities and minorities. Many of those same black and brown communities have been massively out of work due to the economic fallout from the outbreak.

Chicago police superintendent David Brown said high poverty levels in areas in the south and west of the city contribute to violence.

“It's about a lack of opportunity. This is not a police problem. This is about social inequality,” he said.

The researchers say the rise in the disease may have to do with increased arms purchases. A study from the University of California-Davis found that gun violence in the United States has increased significantly, linked to increased purchases of firearms during the pandemic.

More than 2 million firearms were purchased between March and May, according to the study, up 64,3% more than expected. In May, the level of interpersonal violence with the use of firearms increased significantly: 17% more injuries than expected. Researchers estimated an increase of 776 injuries compared to what would be expected if there were no increase in purchases: it is 7,8% more over a three-month period.

Christopher Herrmann, a former NYC police officer and assistant professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said anti-police sentiment across the country is also fueling growth.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, police officers were called heroes because they were frontline workers. After the Floyd incident, police officers quickly went from heroes to villains,” Herrmann said.

This encourages police officers to take a more "non-confrontational approach," he said, creating a mentality: "I'm not going to do any proactive work because I'm more concerned about the risk of getting into trouble or being on the news."

On the subject: In Colorado, a 21-year-old girl was shot dead due to a dog walking dispute

"Everything has a limit"

On Saturday, July 18, dozens of youths marched through several blocks on the south side of Chicago to demand more resources to combat the use of weapons. One protester held a sign with photographs of young people killed as a result of the use of weapons, and the words: “There is a limit to everything. I'm tired of seeing my friends in coffins and urns. "

Jones has a hard time getting out of bed every day. She did not return to work after the murder of her sister. She is trying to raise her 7-year-old son in the same area where her sister was fatally injured.

“I don’t know what to tell my 7-year-old who wants answers to something he doesn’t even know about,” she said.

According to Jones, Amaria has always wanted a Pandora charm bracelet. Jones bought this bracelet for her funeral.

“When her birthday or Christmas comes, I want to fill this bracelet all the way and put it somewhere in her memory. Everything she missed,” Jones said. “I want her to know that we are still proud of her and we will still celebrate her life.” On those days when she would have graduated from high school or college, I will be there and I will attach the pendant to her bracelet. Just to let her know."

Read also on ForumDaily:

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