TAKING ACTION - DEATH SHOULD GALVANIZE CRIME-FIGHTING EFFORT

When a 14-year-old dies of a gunshot wound, Greenville residents should
feel sorrow for the loss. When his classmates are charged with the death,
no citizen can afford to look away.

By any measure, the events of this death are shocking.

Raheem Morrison, an ebullient, likable middle school student, died on a
sunny Sunday from a single gunshot wound to the back. He was found just
before noon on a neighbor's lawn in the Moyewood neighborhood.

Three children are charged with the crime, including one 14-year-old
charged with first-degree murder. Greenville police allege that Raheem died
in a dispute over a pair of shoes.

Though police do not have all the facts, and the boys have yet to face
trial, this community cannot withhold action. It must not hesitate in
redoubling its efforts to eradicate violence and reduce crime throughout
the city.

Crime, especially violent crime, is no stranger to Greenville. The city's
crime rate has slowly climbed nearly every year since 1997. In a recent FBI
report, Greenville topped the state in murder rate, aggravated assaults and
larcenies, though the state failed to include statistics for the Charlotte
area. The report also ranked Greenville fourth in the nation for property
crimes.

Sometimes, citizens might dismiss instances of crime as being a problem for
only one part of the city. Some segments do bear a disproportional burden.
Witness a classmate of Raheem saying, "This usually happens to the older
boys," the day of the shooting.

But no citizen should explain away violence as another's problem.

And it is easier to overlook or explain away crime, unless criminals burst
through the door. Witness Greenville police attorney Blair Carr who said
that Greenville is safe for those who, "don't do drugs, sell drugs or
associate with people who do."

But no citizen should feel comfortable until they too are part of a solution.

Greenville cannot effectively reduce crime without the commitment of all
citizens. FBI reports do not divide crime by neighborhoods, and thus a
community cannot afford to divide responsibility.

When a 14-year-old dies, the whole community feels the loss and bears the
terrible sorrow of the death. When his classmates are charged, the whole
community should steel its resolve to reduce crime and solve this problem.

Greenville already had begun that process. It must accelerate in the wake
of this tragedy.