By Daniel Nardini
My wife had to do an extra day of work because one of her fellow coworkers could not be at work on that day. There was a good reason though; my wife’s coworker had lost her son. This lady’s son was shot dead. What happened? As far as can be discerned, there was an argument and this lady’s son was shot dead. A suspect had been arrested, and is being held pending a hearing. This lady’s son was only 20 year’s old. What a terrible loss, and it has shattered two families; that of the murdered son and of the suspect. I cannot imagine what my wife’s coworker is going through, and my wife and I could not feel worse for her.
The weapon recovered was an unregistered handgun, and the police were searching for more witnesses to the crime. I have heard so many similar stories like this one over the years. However similar these stories may be, it does not make it any easier for me or those who lost loved ones to deal with. Two things I must point out. First, nine times out of ten the weapon or weapons used usually were unregistered guns. Despite Illinois’ strict gun laws, it has not reduced the overall crime rate nor prevented such homicides from happening. Second, the ban on assault weapons would not have changed this tragedy. It seems in too many cases I have heard about the weapon of choice more often than not is the handgun. Finally, the rise in crime is in so many ways tied with the dramatic rise in mental illness due to what happened over the past two years of the pandemic.
In many cases, those who were guilty of murder and/or homicide were mentally ill. Hence, an argument could become lethal. By no means are all homicides like this, but in my experience there seems to be some pattern to many of them. The pandemic has frayed many people’s nerves, and this mental health crisis is one that state and federal governments are now trying to catch up on dealing with. For this poor lady’s son, it is too late, and this poor lady will never recover from this terrible event. I can only hope that our state and federal governments as well as emergency services will be able to help those still alive and in need.
Shot Dead
By Daniel Nardini
The weapon recovered was an unregistered handgun, and the police were searching for more witnesses to the crime. I have heard so many similar stories like this one over the years. However similar these stories may be, it does not make it any easier for me or those who lost loved ones to deal with. Two things I must point out. First, nine times out of ten the weapon or weapons used usually were unregistered guns. Despite Illinois’ strict gun laws, it has not reduced the overall crime rate nor prevented such homicides from happening. Second, the ban on assault weapons would not have changed this tragedy. It seems in too many cases I have heard about the weapon of choice more often than not is the handgun. Finally, the rise in crime is in so many ways tied with the dramatic rise in mental illness due to what happened over the past two years of the pandemic.
In many cases, those who were guilty of murder and/or homicide were mentally ill. Hence, an argument could become lethal. By no means are all homicides like this, but in my experience there seems to be some pattern to many of them. The pandemic has frayed many people’s nerves, and this mental health crisis is one that state and federal governments are now trying to catch up on dealing with. For this poor lady’s son, it is too late, and this poor lady will never recover from this terrible event. I can only hope that our state and federal governments as well as emergency services will be able to help those still alive and in need.