Please Stop The Violence

Y’all need to stop.

No. No. Make that. . . We all need to stop.

I’m not attempting to paraphrase Matthew 18:20, but it seems that where two or more of us are gathered, violence will surely erupt.

Barbara, a grandmother, who asked that her last name not be used, was at Rigdon Park on Sat., Oct. 19, when all (you know what) broke loose.

It began with loud voices — which is not unusual when kiddie athletes are playing, and their often issue-laden parents and other relatives are in the stands. However, these loud voices soon morphed into gunshots.  

One woman fired the shots, and another woman was hit.

The Columbus Police Department and the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office responded to the incident. Sheriff Greg Countryman said a previous disagreement had made its way to the park, which is also, not unusual.

Barbara said a man, who appeared to have some connection to the injured woman, lost control. Although he was repeatedly told by law enforcement on the scene to calm down and step away from the situation, he did not.

He appeared to be trying to get to the shooter. The man eventually hit one of the law enforcement officials or some other official on the scene. He was subsequently tased, handcuffed and arrested. The shooting victim was transported to a hospital; and as of this writing, her condition was unknown.

Meanwhile, about 90 minutes away at the Albany State Homecoming celebration another storm was brewing.

Sometime around 8:50 p.m. shots rang out. When the shooting stopped, six people had been injured by bullets. One person, De’Marion Tashawn Daniels, a 19-year-old from Newnan, Ga., later died at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital.

Daniels was not an ASU student, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation reported.

GBI was requested by the Albany State University Police Department to assist with the case at about 9:10 p.m. The campus was placed on lockdown following the shooting, and a search was conducted for the suspect(s). Unfortunately, no arrests had been made at the time of this writing.

Lynn, who also asked that her last name not be used, is an ASU alum and on campus for the Homecoming celebration. She and a friend were headed to the concert about 9 p.m. when they realized everything was eerily quiet.

They made a hasty retreat.

The shooting incident happened around 8:50 p.m. in a crowded area near the concert venue.

Lynn thinks she may have gotten a glimpse of the suspects. A glimpse. Not a good look. She could not distinguish facial features, but she recalls seeing orange hair.

“They were not Albany State students,” she said.

Perhaps Lynn is on to something, the GBI said other victims of the shooting include:

• A 13-year-old girl, from Albany, suffered a gunshot wound.
• A 17-year-old girl, a local high school student, suffered a gunshot wound.
• A 16-year-old girl, a local high school student, suffered a gunshot wound.
• A 20-year-old woman was grazed by a bullet.
• Another victim was injured while attempting to run away, but she was not shot.

Perhaps we can say we’ve seen it all. Whatever some of today’s parents are, they are not hypocrites. Back in the day it was not uncommon for an adult to lean forward to look in a child’s eyes and tell him or her, “Don’t do as I do, do as I say.”

They might have been trying to keep children from drinking and smoking, but that has been replaced with teaching them “not to be a punk” or “get punked”  

The man at Rigdon Park was not a punk. He couldn’t do as police instructed after the shooting, but there was a price to pay. Plus, the youngsters got a living example of what they should not do, but some of them, no doubt, got it twisted.

The same goes for those involved in the Albany State shooting. One person had a problem with another person, so the person with the problem got some friends together to teach that enemy a lesson.

When they get caught – and they will get caught because somebody is going to talk too much – everybody will then learn about really getting or being punked.

And they will do whatever they have to do to survive.