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Gunshots

I ought to say a few words about last Saturday's Capitol Hill shooting. Growing up in Atlanta, GA—which jockeys with Compton, New Orleans, Detroit, and DC for the title of "murder capital of America"—it's far too easy to grow numb to the news that someone has been shot and killed. But Saturday's shooting would jar the conscience no matter where it had happened. The youngest victim was only 14 years old, and no one who was killed lived a particularly dangerous lifestyle. Violence is a tragedy, and the shock of a seemingly unprovoked killing spree is almost impossible to comprehend. Because the shooter took his own life, we will likely never find a "motive" for his crimes no matter how hard we try.

Whenever innocent lives are the victim of such evil or misfortune, we have a natural urge to ask, "Why did this have to happen? What could we have done to prevent it?"  There are good intentions behind that soul-searching, but we ought to leave it for the future, and let the thoughts and prayers of those who need time to mourn occupy the present.

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Last updated by Nicholas Beaudrot on 07:06 30 March 2006