Chicago Youth Murders Spur National Action

Top U.S. Officials Pledge Support to Fight Surge in Teen Violence Nationwide but Fear and Skepticism Linger in Chicago

(CBS)  A shocking video of a group of kids beating 16-year-old Derrion Albert to death in an after-school melee was the fifth student death in just six weeks of this new school year.

"What happened to Derrion is barbaric, it was barbaric," anti-violence advocate Diane Latiker said.

Photos: Derrion Albert Beating Death Video

It's opened the nation's eyes to Chicago's youth murders, reports CBS News correspondent Randall Pinkston.

In each of the last three years a classroom of children has been killed - from 27 in 2006 to a record 37 in 2008. And there were 500 children injured by gunshots last year alone.

Seventeen-year-old Jermaine Fareed, who walks to school past makeshift memorials, worries about surviving the day.

He says fights break out in his school about four times a week.

Two U.S. Cabinet secretaries joined city officials in Chicago today to highlight national concern over youth violence.

"To those who seek to lay blame, I challenge you to ask yourself, what have you done," Education Secretary Arne Duncan said.

The Justice Department is pledging $16 million to boost school security around the country - a half million for Chicago.

Government: 60% of U.S. Kids Exposed to Violence

The city is also using $30 million in federal stimulus funds to identify and help 1,200 children who are most at risk of getting shot.

The students from 38 schools will be selected based on: poor academic performance, family environment and location - focusing on areas where other deaths have occurred.

Parents like Leslie Carthan are trying to fill the void, escorting students to and from school.

Until now, adult promises haven't given kids much hope.

Pinkston asked Jermaine Fareed if there is anything police or schools can do to make kids feel safe.

"Not really," Fareed said.

A sobering thought that the city knows it has to change.

[sam-kiley]

bonjour
je ne connais pas chicago, ce que je connais c'est a travers la télévision..il est vrai que sa réputation n'est pas a envier...criminalité..drogues..débauche...etc.mais bon , cela s'applique aussi a beaucoup d'autres grandes métropoles a travers le monde et pire encore....
la question est la suivante, les responsables américains..qu'attendent-ils pour se tourner vers chicago..s'interesser a cette belle ville...la "sauver" de sa déchéance... et de la recession qui la touche en plein fouet...en parler c'est bien..ne rien faire pour y remerdier ..n'est pas pas une bonne chose..ah mais alors pas du tout
au revoir

Let me see if I get this straight. Black on black crime in Chicago gets national attention and key figures from the current administration jump into action. Black on black crime in Baltimore gets a 3 line page eight print in the local paper for one day. Did I miss anything? I report, you decide. Dah

[book_of_wally]

Ya if Obama was from Baltimore the corporate media would be focusing on Baltimore more. Its all about how to make Obama look bad.

[SHEETPAN]

Hey Gordon, I understand your frustration, but martial law sets a dangerous precedent. Let me be politically incorrect for a moment. We all know which political party has controlled Chicago for decades. Liberal policy and programs have been in place for all of those years. They have proven themselves to be a dismal failure. It,s time to give something else a try.

I was attending college at an university in the south side of Chicago. I was on a pay phone at about the same time most afternoons. Across the street was an alley where two groups of teenager threw bricks, concrete, and rocks every day. They took a break on rainy days. I had never seen such a series incident before in my life. I'd seen fights between individuals but never such groups act in that way. I compared it to a ritual. This was in 1971.. Now they kill each other.

[gordon_geeko]

Roving bands of violent criminals shouldn't be treated like kids no matter what their age. If they're old enough to seriously hurt or kill someone, then they will be treated like any adult who does that. Huge sections of Chicago are just as broken as places like Somalia and the Congo. They should be put under martial law and military rule if civilian law enforcement can't get the job done.

[SHEETPAN]

What these kid's need is real opportunity and examples of success. Not the pointless mantra of hope that they instinctivly know will get them nothing. Stop teaching them that they are victims. Teach them to be independant not dependant. Teach them that Capitalism can set them free, not enslave them. Stop forcing generations of families into a cycle of welfare that takes away thier self-respect and robs them of any possibility of a decent life.

[username555-2009]

Big Whoop-De-Doo! If it was a White kid that had been killed, the Media wouldn't touch the story with a 10 foot pole. No wonder TV and Newspaper ratings are going down the tube. We want news, not feel-good propaganda.

[jdtex]

Forget about lossing the olympics Chicago, where's Oprah, Michelle, and Barrack on this matter. Is it not as important as the humanitarian "stuff" oprah does in a foriegn land? Oh thats right, these people are expendable to the winfrey's and obamas, because they are beneath them anyway. Your own people are dying in your own backyard. Get real folks get it done make it better put your black celebrity to better use.