Miami Shootings Hit Close To Home For Teens
Miami shootings are hitting close to home for some Miami-Dade County teens.
Juan Videa never made it to class on Monday at Booker T. Washington Senior High. Juan, 17, was shot at more than 20 times walking to his bus stop in Bay Vista Park, and was rushed to Ryder Trauma Center.
The shooting of Jaun Videa followed the supposedly random shooting of Aaron Willis, and a weekend made fatal for two other teens. This all adds to a disturbing national trend of school violence that began in Newtown, Connecticut last December.
According to the Miami Herald, Booker T. Washington Principal William Aristide says students at his school get shot once or twice a year, and wants to know how to curb the “culture of violence.”
In the Miami-Dade County alone, 99 students were victims of homicide between the beginning of 2009 and the end of 2012. Of those students, 81 were shot. Students 18 and younger are very aware of the threat of being gunned down.
Superintendent Alberto Carvalho began a campaign against youth violence after the December 19 shooting of Aaron Willis, who was killed riding his bike from a friend’s house in Wynwood. During a news conference on the first day back from winter break, Carvalho commented on the Miami shootings:
“I made a promise when I became superintendent that I would attend the funeral, a viewing, a burial for every single child who would die a violent death in Miami. I am tired. We’ve covered this one time too many. I’ve attended over 40 such events, and it’s time to stop.”
Among those shot in Miami are Bryan Herrera, a sophomore shot dead on his bicycle December 22, Landon Kinsey, a sophomore fatally wounded in Miami Gardens ten days later, Orlando Gonzalez, 13, shot in his home on February 13 … and the list continues.
What do you think might stop the Miami shootings that are hitting close to home for teens in Miami-Dade County?
Weekend Miami-Dade shootings left at least 3 teenagers shot, 2 of them dead; Local rapper among victims hrld.us/13MkbAD
— The Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) February 26, 2013
