Another toddler in Milwaukee shot himself over the weekend.
One toddler finding a gun and shooting himself is bad enough. But this is another. A second small child on Milwaukee’s north side who found a loaded gun, grabbed it, and accidentally pulled the trigger.
The first toddler to do that died. As of yesterday afternoon, this most recent child is still fighting for his life.
Milwaukee has become a very violent city, so coverage of all the city’s shootings is difficult. But this is a child.
Fox6 gave the story three paragraphs. Three.
Police are investigating a shooting that left a Milwaukee toddler seriously injured near 48th and Marion late Friday night. The shooting happened shortly after 11:30 p.m.
The victim, a 2-year-old boy, found a gun and accidentally shot himself, according to police. He sustained serious injuries and was transported to the hospital in critical condition.
A 28-year-old woman from Milwaukee was arrested in connection to this incident. Criminal charges will be referred to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office in the upcoming days.
Now, I don’t work Friday nights and weekend news is kind of thin. But where is the reaction? Where is the outrage? Where are BLM and the Ben Crumps of the world? Where are the marches in the street, the ‘Say His Name,’ the CNN and MSNBC crews? Where is LeBron James?
Why do these lives not matter?
While we’re at it, why don’t the nearly 60 people murdered so far in Milwaukee this year matter?
Numbers from the Journal Sentinel say 90% of those killed in the city this year are black. More specifically, they are young black men and teens.
But there is no out cry, there is no uproar.
This isn’t just another case of ‘what about them,’ that misses the point.
We either value life or we don’t. We either think that life matters, or we don’t. We are either upset when young people are shot and killed or we are not.
And as long as people in Milwaukee, or violent neighborhoods in other cities, are more angry at the police than they are those who kill their neighbors, nothing will change.
Photo Credit: Getty Images