On Monday afternoon in the Bronx, Carvett Gentles fired 6 shots into a bodega across the street from where he was standing, targeting 19 year old Tyrone Creighton. One of the bullets hit Creighton, puncturing his lung, and another hit Vada Vasquez in the back of her head leaving her in a medically induced coma. Soon after, Gentles was arrested for carrying a firearm and attempted murder and made a full confession to authorities. Piecing together the crime, Authorities state that there were 4 other people with Gentles during the shooting, including Rohan Francis, 18; Cleve Smith, 20, Clivie Smith, 19, ; and Dwayne Taylor, 23,. All four of them had extensive arrest records except Gentles. The motive behind the shooting is believed to be in retaliation after Tyrone Creighton's brothers, both incarcerated, beat up a person in prison. Before the shooting, the 5 confronted Creighton and one of them pulled out a gun, but Creighton quickly fled to hiding. The gun was soon passed down to Gentles who fired 6 shots. Now Vada Vasquez, a 15 year old girl who loved music, lies in critical condition.
To me, this story has gang violence written all over. Gentles, probably caught in some initiation scheme, was most likely pressured into the shooting, seeing as how the rest of the people had previous arrests except for him. His actions wounded two people, one of them, a completely innocent girl who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now Gentles faces criminal charges, and Vasquez is fighting for her life. With gang violence, no one wins, yet it still goes on all over the world. I know authorities are constantly working to put an end to it, but is there really a way to fully extinguish it? Think about this, it would be nice to know what you guys think.
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9 comments:
it is horrific to read about such young innocent people dying due to causes unrelated to them, like what happened to Vada Vasquez. Michael, you logic about the Gentle's shooting probably being some initiation scheme seems highly probably. To answer your question though, I do not think there will ever be a way to completely extinguish gang violence. Gangs are too large, too many people are part of them and they foster almost a cult mentality, something that the human race has experienced since the beginning of time. There will always be people who need to be in a group and, therefore, find solace in being part of a gang. Since the government cannot control every action every human being does, i'm afraid gang violence will probably always be around to some degree.
I can not possibly explain how much this pisses me off. It's scum like this Carvett Gentles who make even the U.S. a dangerous place to live sometimes. I am not sure if gangs can ever be fully destroyed, but the next time I hear someone say "dude, that car is hella gangster" I will be very upset.
As long as people feel the need to be protected, there will always be gang violence. That's basically what a gang is; it's a group of people who band together for protection and power.
It's ironic how gangs in America came about in the first place. They were formed by immigrants who came to America, and needed protection in this country that the government couldn't give. Now the government is trying to put a stopper in a problem that they caused.
I agree, I dont think there is any reasonable/ possible way to rid of gangs in the US, which is unfortunate since gang violence is such a problem. To get rid of gangs we have to get rid of their causes first; like poverty, peer pressure,or even boredom, which is impossible to do. The rise in the number and size of gangs can also be due to the fact that members are killed if they choose to leave the gang, forcing members to stay even if they dont want to.
I once watched this show on the History Channel about this gang in Texas. They interviewed a bunch of "gangsters" and many of them repeatedly said that they are in the gang because the gang is their "family", and they have no one else. Sad as this is, it's true. Like most of the others said, there is not way to completely end gang violence. Not only is it a way for people to "prove themselves" and have protection against other people trying to prove themselves, but some gangsters feel obligated to their gang.
I agree completely with Sabrina. These gangs are really a synonym for urban tribes.
The tribal members feel allegiance to their respective tribe; it's almost a primtive environment. It's sort of like Lord of the Flies.
Their savagery is misplaced.
I agree with everybody. I don't think there is a way to completely eliminate gangs and the violence/crimes that are associated with them. It is very unfortunate to hear about stories like this. It really is not fair that the innocent girl was at the wrong place at the wrong time.
I remember watching the show, T.I.'s Road to Redemption, where he reached out to many teens that were associated with gangs, violence, etc. He helped many people, but it is very difficult to help everyone.
Like everyone else said, gangs are a way for people to fight for protection and power and for some, gangs are one's family.
I think that this is a horrible tragedy, but I am not going to say that this is one that can be avoided. The government can crack down harder with harsher punishments, but as Josh said, to gang members, the gang IS their family. Many people would do anything to protect their family, and to gangs that includes murder and violence. It is unfortunate that Vada Vasquez was at the wrong place at the wrong time, and that she is the innocent person who has to deal with the worst of the consequences. What makes this even more tragic is the fact that allegedly, the reason that the shooting even occurred was because of a fight that happened in jail. Somewhere so far away caused this tragedy. It also seems ironic that the one who fired the shots is the only one without a criminal record. It reminds me of gang initiations that occur locally. Gang members are forced to harm, rape or rob innocent people in the streets in order to become part of the gang. It seems as if the boys who had already been incarcerated were passing down the torch to Gentles.
-Jane Hayashi-
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