Inglewood, Ca

On Wednesday around 3 P.M. a young adult was shot outside of his home in Inglewood, California. The man was walking back from the liquor store with his infant child. He was not a gang member, he did not cause trouble in the community, and had no previous encounters with the law, but still received two bullets in the chest.

The man noticed a car following him for a few minutes, but decided to keep walking anyway. As he closed in on his home, the car pulled up next to him and rolled the window down: four passengers, four guns. Before saying anything to him, he knew something bad was about to happen based on the area in which he resides. Around here it doesn’t matter if you’re young, old, disabled, or innocent, if you’re outside in the open, you’re a target.

This innocent man was shot right outside of his home, but no news coverage or media story was reported on the incident. I’m aware of this event because this man lives two houses down from me. This man is a family friend, and beloved member of the community. There was no news coverage on the event because it’s common around here. For some it may seem crazy or absurd that an innocent father could be shot in broad daylight with no consequences, but for me, it’s just another day in the hood. Every day is a fight towards making it out, because life can be taken away at any moment.

Gang violence is a big problem in a lot of African American communities, not just Inglewood. Black individuals continuously shoot one another, and wonder why society thinks it’s acceptable to shoot them as well. When a black gang member kills another black person, it’s normal, but when a cop shoots one of us, we see it as the worst thing in the world, and everyone becomes an activist. “Rather than seeking improvement in racial treatment from the justice system, we need to seek improvement in everyday relations,” said Terrell. “If we were to stop killing one another and unite as one, maybe society will realize that brutality and violence are never justifiable.” According to L.A. Times, 670 people were killed in L.A. County in the last 12 months.

This number only accounts for homicides, which is ridiculous. Among the 670 deceased was Jim Briggs. L.A. Times reported the following, “There’s no evidence he was shooting at the officers. We don’t know who he was shooting at or even what direction he was shooting. Briggs then began running through the parking lot toward Budlong Avenue. As two officers tried to detain him, they opened fire,” Mendoza said. Again, rather than waiting for probable cause before firing, the police killed another black man. They weren’t even sure if he had a weapon, but because he ran, they assumed the worst. Over the past few years, there have been multiple incidents that mirror this one, yet the situation is reoccurring. Therefore, something needs to change. Whether it be police training or gun accessibility to the public; we need to take action.