As if to put an exclamation point on my post yesterday, this appeared in the Tribune today: A mass drive-by shooting last night in Back of the Yards. 13 people shot including a 3 year old boy:
The wounded boy, identified by family as Deonta’ Howard, was shot near the ear, the bullet exiting through his cheek, according to police and relatives. He was in critical condition at Mount Sinai Hospital, police said.
Nunn said her grandson, nicknamed Tay Man, is heavily sedated and will need plastic surgery. “He tried to get up and go, he’s not trying to be pinned down by nobody,’’ she said.
“He’s not your average 3-year-old,” Nunn said. “He’s very smart, he’s beyond his years. I don’t know if you’ve heard the saying, ‘He’s an old soul.’ That’s the best words to describe him. He’s an old soul.
An old soul.
What kind of society have we made for ourselves when 3 year olds—children who should only ever be concerned with playing, growing, and what’s for dinner?—are forced to become adults before their time at the barrel of a gun?
This little “old soul” is being primed for a life of violence when his body catches up to his soul, corroded by the violence that surrounded and infused his childhood.
Woe to the adults in his neighborhood—and his city—who allow this to go on! I pray Tay Man escapes that life before it’s too late.
Get well soon Deonta’!
