How serious is the problem?

Gunfire ended a 16-year-old’s birthday party in Alabama. Four people were killed, and thirty-two were injured. Evidence shows the killers used seven guns. Eighty-nine shell casings were recovered at the scene.

Nine people were shot in Columbia, South Carolina. Dozens of shell casings of multiple calibers were found. The incident involved a “large group of juveniles.”

Atlanta police arrested a seventeen-year-old for shooting and killing a trans-woman who starred in a documentary called “Kokomo City.” Police established no motive.

Recently a youth was convicted on four counts of Capital Murder. The murders occurred in Elkmont, Alabama, near the Tennessee border in 2019. The killer massacred his family because he was “Fed up” with them. The murderer was fourteen when he committed the crimes.

Three men, all of them 18-years-old, were arrested in Jefferson County, Colorado, for throwing rocks from an overpass, striking a vehicle, and killing the driver. The men had bought landscaping rocks at Walmart in preparation for the crime. One of them told the police they had been having fun throwing the rocks off the bridge since February. They returned to the scene to photograph the victim’s car, keeping the picture as a souvenir.

A high school senior was killed in Chicago by drive-by shooters as he left school. Friends described the victim as someone who “was going places.” The killers used a stolen KIA, which was abandoned nearby.

I found these cases in a short review of articles from the last week. I chose them because they illustrated different types of issues. Sadly, there were many more examples I could have chosen.

What may be causing young people to show such blatant disregard for human life?

The following article in this series will begin to discuss some of the possible causes.

Jim Leach’s book “You Can Tell ME, Effective Interviewing Made Simple,” is available at “booksbyleach.com” and Amazon.com.