McCarthy issued a statement Friday calling the milestone a "tragic number that is reflective of the gang violence and proliferation of illegal guns that have plagued some of our neighborhoods."
The police department went back and forth Friday, first verifying the 500th killing, then backing off and saying an earlier death was still being investigated.
By late Friday, police confirmed 40-year-old Nathaniel Jackson had become the 500th homicide victim when he was fatally shot in the head outside a convenience store on the city's West Side.
The last time Chicago reached the 500-homicide mark was in 2008, when the year ended with 512 killings. City records show Chicago had 435 homicides last year.
•driving intoxicated
•physical violence
•obtaining firearms
We all want a "silver bullet"(pun intended) to stop gun violence, but all of the above are illegal except firearms and are rampant at all levels of society. Also, guns reach far deeper into the national psyche and history. If you can't stop weed,beer and gangs, how can you possibly stop the gun? Its not only about the 2nd amendment, its about money,security,confidence (or lack of) in government and layer upon layer of personal issues. Creating yet another sub-culture fueled by deprived birthright and billions of dollars will solve what? Look at the lessons of prohibition. It was jet fuel on the fire of organized crime.Society is losing its mind and will continue to eat itself regardless of being told it can't have forks.Will the last person to leave the dining room of common sense please turn off the light? But only if you have a night scope....
Situation 2: Crazy kid enters school with an axe/knife/bat after killing mom at home. He stands at the end of the hall and begins banging on things. Principal goes crazy and bum rushes him, but meets her doom after tackling him when the axe/knife/bat overcomes her. Janitor does the same and meets the same fate. By now, there is a crowd of 10 people on top of the crazy kid and he proceeds to cut his wrists. With crazy kid subdued by the mob, police rush in and stop the bleeding. Crazy kid is tried and convicted, and studies are done on his mind to help prevent this in the future. Crazy kid never made it to room k3 to shoot 20 kids.
Hmmmm. Nah, I think you need your AR-187, M88, vr-12, sawed off mega gun more than we need answers. Can't you protect yourself and family with a 9mm gloc? Or .38 special? Or even a .44 magnum?
It's about compromise, people. It's not about rights. You keep them. This would not be the first time that smart Americans chose safety over freedoms. The militia won't be forming in the next few weeks...keep your rifles and pistols in case it does, however. Just leave the guns made for killing people en masse, for those who do that for a living: your beloved military.
"This would not be the first time that smart Americans chose safety over freedoms."
That's an oxymoron WiR, as smart Americans would know better than to trade freedom for the nebulous "safety" you refer to.
Mirage83, I hope you had a towel handy to wipe the drool from your mouth at the opportunity to describe a gun, or your knowledge of our military's use. Read carefully. I don't care. I don't know anything about guns other than they make killing extremely easy, and to me, almost a cowardly act. And there is nothing nebulous about safety, friend. Precisely why you likely support the outrageous spending on our military budget...because of your desire for safety. And you should probably check the definition of oxymoron...you're a little off their on its use.
jarnold, defending the mentally ill is not something you have to do for me. I want his mind to be studied. Mentally ill or not, do you mean to say that having him answer the questions "Why did you do it?" not have value?
Safety is indeed a nebulous item unless you have some way of guaranteeing it to people, as in if you give up A we'll make sure B never happens to you. You cannot make such a guarantee, and neither can the government.
Spending on our military is a question of national security and our global interests, not of my safety.
As for this...
"And you should probably check the definition of oxymoron...you're a little off their on its use."
My use of the term is far more accurate than your use of the word "their". But perhaps you'd be willing to point out precisely how my use if it was incorrect, unless of course that's yet another thing you don't care about but still comment on.
This type of behavior permeating our society is a result of generations with no work ethic, no moral compass and no empathy for fellow humans or lessor beings.
Why do I carry a gun, because I will not be a defenseless victim.
Yea, I know it's nonsensical, but I'm southern and therefore my point of view is irrelevant. Once I'm dependent on Obama for my subsistence I'll understand how wrong I was.