#7 of 2007
The senseless murder of Dequarrius Sims over the weekend stands out to me as a real tragedy. He’s not the typical gangbanger who “had it coming.â€Â By all accounts this kid seemed to be on the right track. Smart, funny, athletic, well loved by his classmates. Even played in the band. Just 17 years old- a Junior at the much aligned Manial HS, he had aspirations of attending College and rising above the world he lived in. Someone who could be held up as a role model.
As I heard his baseball coach talk about him on the radio I had the feeling that the murder of this kid on the South Side will someway somehow spark a change in this community- a rallying cry, if you will- but as quickly as that thought entered my head, it vanished.
The reality is that in a few weeks when we make it up to 9 or 10, to those who did not know him, he’ll just be remembered as another murder victim in our plagued city.
#7 of 2007.
April 24th, 2007 at 11:59 am
PI,
Did you see the article in today’s paper? The “local angle” article was crazy… it’s not much comfort that my car is less likely to get robbed, if I am more likely to get murdered.
Jennifer
April 24th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
Deageofaquarius?
April 25th, 2007 at 4:53 am
That “local angle” was bizzare. Something like “not counting the homicides, the crime rate is down”? What the hell kind of rationale is that? That’s like saying “not counting the casualties, the war has been a success.”
I really worry about the future of Peoria. I’m sure once we get the museum, everything will be fine.
April 25th, 2007 at 5:49 am
I’ve only read the online version and didn’t see that. My wife has already recycled the paper. I’ll try to find it online again.
April 26th, 2007 at 10:22 am
I’ve heard Chief Settingsgaard make statements like this before, and I’ve always found the logic ridiculous and quite disturbing. What makes people feel more unsafe than murder? This latest case is even more disturbing since by all accounts I’ve heard so fare, Dequarrius Sims was a good kid.