Last week’s double homicide on Chester Avenue has reverberated throughout this close-knit community. These victims were not mere numbers—they were fathers and sons, brothers and husbands who cherished their lives and did not wish to die. A gunman has been arrested in connection with their deaths, yet the killings remain unexplained, lending them the character of a senseless tragedy. However it is characterized, the double homicide has instilled fear in a substantial segment of the city’s residents. Young people prepared to gun down their peers without cause using unlawful firearms must be removed from society. Life is imperfect for all of us, and not everyone begins with a clean record. Yet when two young men are shot dead by gunmen inside their own apartment, the moment has come for the community to acknowledge this reality and take action to prevent such occurrences in the future. Anything short of this response amounts to allowing it to happen once more.
What to do?
