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Opinion | Too often someone shoots without thinking or caring about the innocent in the line of fire | Otis Sanford

Local 24 News political analyst and commentator Otis Sanford shares his point of view on the shooting of a 4-year-old this weekend in Memphis.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The first thing I thought about after the weekend shooting death of a 4-year-old child sitting in a car was 2-year-old Laylah Washington – who killed under similar circumstances in 2017.

Memphians were shocked by the callousness of that shooting, which occurred after a group of rowdy men argued with Laylah’s mother. The men followed her and fired several shots, striking Laylah who was sitting in a car seat. She died a few days later.

In the latest incident, the four-year-old was in a car with a group of men who argued with someone outside the vehicle. That person fired shots, striking the child who later died at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. And all of us should be outraged again.

Yes, people argue. Sometimes for ridiculous reasons. But too often it seems people in Memphis brandish and shoot guns without thinking or caring about innocent people in the line of fire. Surely the four-year-old was not part of the argument. But he was one who lost his life.

Crimes such as these are happening as our state legislators and governor are making it easier for practically anyone 21 and over to carry a gun in public without a permit. They say it will make us all safer.

Well, tell that to the families of these young children who lost their lives because of gunplay. And that’s my point of view.

April 2, 2021 HOMICIDE It was 4:14 a.m. Saturday, March 6, 2021 when a shooting call came into the Appling Farms station of the Memphis Police Department. Officers dispatched to 5280 Elmore Road at Raleigh LaGrange - the Best Deal Automotive Repair - found Gerald Stewart in the parking lot,...

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