CHICAGO (CBS) — As Chicago Police add more officers to communities, many residents in crime-ridden communities are afraid the crime isn’t going to stop.
One of the victims of gun violence this past weekend died, allegedly, over something as small as a dog relieving itself on someone else’s property.
Police say the fatal shooting happened in the 7700 block of South Shore on August 3 around 8:45 p.m. The victim was struck in the left arm and chest and pronounced dead on the scene.
It is the sad reality of how quick people are to pull a gun.
CBS 2’s Charlie De Mar reports neighbours are finding it hard to wrap their heads around, as their neighbour, Earl Young, was fatally shot over the weekend. Young was about to marry his fiancé and things were looking bright when a petty argument, allegedly over his dogs, ended his life.
Darnell Payne is not only the Dean of Sullivan House alternative school and a pastor, he’s also a mentor to many men.
He’s opened up his home to many of them.
“We get the ones CPS no longer wants,” Payne said. “They are just little boys. Hurt people hurt people.”
30-year-old Earl Young was one of those boys with a troubled past who Payne took in and turned around for the better. Young was a great basketball player, father, and soon-to-be husband.
“Puppies. I have to smile because I’m so close to crying,” Payne said.
Young was murdered Friday. He was one of 12 killed over the violent weekend in Chicago.
Payne says it all stemmed from Young’s two puppies on the porch of his Southshore home.
“The puppies were peeing on the porch. The pee ran down the porch to the neighbour’s,” he explained.
Police say Young and the neighbour exchanged words before the neighbour shot and killed him.
“How are we so petty now that we live in a world that you could lose your life over puppy pee?” questioned Payne.
Balloons were released in Young’s memory, as they were for many others across Chicago this week.
Payne admits he doesn’t have all of the answers but says he knows where to start.
“I’m upset everyone is making this so political, but it’s so simple and that’s actually caring about where these kids are and what they are doing,” he said.
As others look to Payne for comfort and a proper send off this weekend, he is also in pain over the petty killing of one of his own.
“I have to stand before 3,400 people Saturday and make them think everything is going to be okay when I’m not sure that everything is going to be okay,” Payne said.
Despite several witnesses, police say no arrest has been made in this case.
