Well, we did it. Congratulations, Philadelphia. We've passed the 300 mark for murders. So as not to fall into the trap of considering that only a number, here are the names (where available) and ages of the latest three victims as reported in this morning's Inquirer and Daily News:
Jaysar Norville, 5 months old, died yesterday at 11 a.m. at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
According to witnesses, two men chased another into McElwees Market about 5:15 p.m., when shooting erupted. A stray bullet struck a woman who was a passenger in a vehicle. Her husband, behind the wheel, came to a stop on 58th Street near Springfield Avenue, where he flagged down police who were headed to the crime scene. The woman was pronounced dead at 5:31 p.m. at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Police later responded to a report of a shooting on Wolf Street near 20th about 8:45 p.m. An unidentified 19-year-old male bicyclist was shot in the head, Sgt. Cooney said. The victim was pronounced dead at 9:01 p.m. at Children's Hospital.
So a 5-month old child, beaten to death by his mother's live-in boyfriend becomes number 300. I have no words.
Anyway, for the record, in the same time period last year, we were up to 286 murders. This problem isn't getting any better. I'm through trying to figure out who has to or can fix this - the mayor or the ridiculous state legislators or the President or me and you.
A 5-month old?
You can check out WHYY's special week of programming that's dealing with the violence epidemic. All week long, there will be news features during Morning Edition and All Things Considered as well as special Radio Times and Voices in the Family programs that discuss both the causes of and possible solutions to this problem. In fact, Voices will be airing a special program today at noon.