Two men charged with murdering inaugural performer
Hadiya Pendleton / CBS Chicago
CHICAGOTwo men were charged with the murder of Hadiya Pendleton, the 15-year-old high school honors student who was gunned down at a Chicago Park in January just a week after she performed at President Barack Obama's inauguration festivities, CBS Chicago reports.
Michael Ward, left, and Kenneth Williams are charged in the death of Hadiya Pendleton.
/ Chicago Police Department/CBS ChicagoMichael Ward, 18, and Kenneth Williams, 20, both of Chicago, each were charged Monday with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy announced at a news conference.
Hadiya was shot and killed on Jan. 29 in Vivian Gordon Harsh Park as she and about a dozen schoolmates were sheltering themselves from the rain under a canopy. Two of her peers were injured in the attack, which McCarthy said was a case of mistaken identity, as Ward and Williams sought retaliation on rival gang members.
Police arrested two suspects on Saturday and conducted lineups over the weekend.
- Two arrested over Hadiya Pendleton homicide
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- Killing of girl, 15, who performed at inauguration intensifies gun debate
About a week before the shooting, Hadiya performed as a majorette with her school band at President Barack Obama's inauguration festivities. According to news reports, her parents were joining First Lady Michelle Obama at the State of the Union address on Tuesday. The first lady attended Hadiya's funeral on Saturday.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he called Hadiya's parents about the arrests, according to CBS Chicago.
"I have called Cleo and Nate either every night or almost every night. When I have nothing to say except for I'm thinking of you and you're always in my prayers," said Emanuel.
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I'm sure family and friends can't believe they would do something like this. "day wen to crch eva suna wit day mama". Been trying to get out of gangs and wanted to be a doctor/lawyer.
Always the same.
"...Bwb2020. Bull!! This killing was not a robbery for money. It was payback for disrespect..."
Back in the early 1930s, "disrespecting" Al Capone, or Lucky Luciano would produce the same result, so what's the difference?
Food stamps? You ever try to live on food stamps? This must be something you are used to doing, I have never known this to be common in poor neighborhoods of any ethnic stripe.
Free housing? No such thing. If there were, and you were not taking advantage of it, then you would be the fool.
Taxpayers? Next time you go buy a can of beer, look at the line just above the total, it says "Tax". Everyone pays taxes, even the poorest, your bagger-prop doesn't jibe with reality.
"...BWB2020: When certain segments of black society stop this nonsense of being against getting an education because it's "being white" and are willing to step up against the criminal elements in their neighborhood, then you might have a point..."
Then by your admission, I have a point.
The education system in the US is so underfunded and obsolete that even "white" students lag far behind even Asian schools like Singapore.
The three-yearly OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report, which compares the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds in 70 countries around the world, ranked the United States 14th out of 34 OECD countries for reading skills, 17th for science and a below-average 25th for mathematics.
The US curriculum is outdated, propagandist, underfunded, and totally irrelevant for producing people able to compete in the modern economy, even more for schools in "black" neighborhoods, whose budgets are "redistributed" via the Bush "voucher system" to schools where "black" students are not at all welcome.
"...It's just a little too easy otherwise to simply blame, blame, blame..."
What you call blame is simply identifying the source of the problem, and until we eliminate it, your position is apparently to pretend that it doesn't exist, then you blame those who are victims of it, for doing what they must to survive.
"...Until that happens, it will be the same, same, same..."
On that point we agree, but as to what should happen is where we diverge.
"...Excuses are easy, funny how so many poor, underprivileged people of all races seem to be able to rise above when they put their energy into making an effort instead of making excuses..."
If that were anywhere near true, then there would be a lot more people of means who rose from the underprivileged groups. The system is built to keep people from rising out of poverty. "The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer" is a phrase grounded in truth, and is well known, even to those who try to pretend otherwise.
"Them that's got shall get, them that's not shall lose, so the Bible says, and it still is news..." remember that song, how old is it?
Criminal elements? Like the police, the corrupt government, and their colluding business and finance industry patrons? Oh no, you only mean the little fish that have dark complexions.
I challenge you to live for say, five years without legitimate income,from any source, including any savings you might have, and without credit, then come back and say that you require no effort to survive.
I can assure you it is not the "street thugs" supplying the drugs, but those people aren't usually dark-complexioned, so you say nothing about them.
You bemoan "...Somalis, Etheopians, Chinese birth mothers...", but don't mention the European migrants. Pretty obvious racism there.
SSI? You pay into SSI out of your own paychecks, so no harm there. No work history, no SSI.
Welfare? Been gutted long ago by the ASPD-afflicted misanthropes of the GOP.
Health care? Reduced by the baggers to a joke.
Food stamps? Yet another joke, I challenge you try to survive and raise your children only on food stamps.
Police and firemens' budgets are determined by the states' respective voters, you baggers don't want to pay state taxes, then do without them, your call.
At any rate, how do you know that such was not the case?