Burying a child who was murdered in a shooting is surely among the most grim and heartbreaking realities that a parent can experience.
To lose two children felled by bullets is beyond unconscionable and horrific. Yet that is the reality Natasha Graham is now living after her 21-year-old daughter, Kanesha Gaines, was killed in a mass shooting on the West Side over the weekend.
Four years ago, Graham’s 18-year-old son Keshaun also lost his life to gun violence.
“You fear to lose another kid — that was my number one fear and it still happened,” the grieving mother told the Sun-Times.
Making the situation even worse, if that’s possible: The fact that no one has been arrested in the weekend shooting. Chicago’s homicide clearance rate is notoriously low.
It’s a scathing indictment on the pervasiveness of gun violence in Chicago and elsewhere. Our lawmakers are unable to implement substantive legislation, at least at the federal level, that would significantly reduce the presence of illegal firearms and thus help reduce shootings.
And when shootings do happen, here in Chicago at least, where are the witnesses to provide tips that would lead to arrests and hopefully, justice and closure for a grieving survivor?
Just as there are no words to really ease Graham’s anguish, there are no guarantees that she and her other children — whom she now tries to keep inside — and her two grandchildren will never be victims. There’s no guarantee for any of us. Americans have a perpetual target on our backs, as evidenced by the 422 mass shootings and over 11,000 murders from gun violence that have occurred so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Americans will remain prey as long as we are at the mercy of those elected officials and Supreme Court justices who willingly look the other way, seemingly uncaring that those who shouldn’t have weapons can too often easily get them.
The solution to end the bloodshed may be elusive, but every small step forward counts. “...Even relatively small effects of gun policies are important to the people and communities affected,” according to a January 2023 report by the RAND Corporation. “Even a 1-percent reduction in homicides nationally would correspond to approximately 2,500 fewer deaths over a decade.”
Witnesses need protection, and courage to speak up
Aggravating the gun violence here in this city is the reluctance of witnesses to come forward in the aftermath of a shooting. Victims themselves often don’t want to divulge key facts, either because they don’t trust police or are afraid of retaliation.
The “several gunmen” police said jumped out of a black Jeep and shot Gaines and eight others during a backyard birthday celebration early Sunday morning must be held accountable.
No one wants wrongful arrests. Charging and convicting innocent men and women in the past is what has contributed to the suspicions many poor Black and Brown Chicagoans have of the police. But the rift has to heal, to give law enforcement a better chance to arrest the right individuals. Officers must work to regain trust. And witnesses must be willing to talk, not just to help detectives clear a case but for the sake of closure for survivors like Graham.
If party-goers attending the North Lawndale gathering where Gaines was murdered recognized any of the perpetrators or could provide investigators with more details about what happened, they can help without identifying themselves.
The tip line that former Chicago Police Supt. David Brown set up two years ago is still in place. People can relay information about a crime anonymously.
Tipsters can call 833-408-0069 or can log onto cpdtip.com for online contributions.
And the Chicago Police Department continues to offer up to $15,000 for information leading to a conviction in a homicide case.
The grief of a mother who has endured the worst nightmare imaginable, not once but twice, should be enough to move others to do what they can to keep weapons off the street and bring murderers to justice.
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