Follow Up to the Crane High School Student Murder

On 3/7/08 in Chicago at Crane High School we had another kid get killed by gun fire; it appears to be a possible gang related incident. The death of Ruben Ivy is the 16th (we are losing over 4 kids per month to gangs with guns) murder of a school kid in Chicago this year and represents the 18th school kid killed since school started in September. The samething is going on all over the country in Philly, Baltimore, D.C. These deaths are generally caused by the use of high powered assault weapons which have a high kill rate. These crimes also contribute to lower test scores and higher drop out rates by causing an unsafe environment that is counter productive to learning. A kid don't want to go to a school where he or she have to duck gunfire going to and from. And it's close to impossible to have high crime in or around a school and have high academics.

I'm not a gun grabber and believe in gun rights but what I'm against is the easy access by gangs and criminals to guns. This shooting took place on a crowded city street and everyone packing and opening up fire in all directions on the offender isn't the answer since the girl on her way to band practice or a concerned parent on their way to school to meet their kids teacher could be struck down just as easy as the bad guys in this case.

Some of these kids growing up in these high crime and gang infested areas display PTSD much like a combat vet. The incident was reportedly sparked by the fight over of an urban gear hat called a 150 because it costs $150 retail; this fight then resumed after school let out.  A kid killed some one for for $150 hat!

Most of you know that I'm against the death penalty and am for the world wide ban of the practice. I'm also against life without parole for those who were minors at the time of their crime. Locking up a kid forever is just a little too soon to write someone off as a complete loss in my opinion. And it won't bring anyone back either.

The youth charged in the murder is 15 years old.


15-year-old charged in fatal shooting of Crane  student

 

Bond has been denied Sunday for the 15-year-old boy charged in the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old Crane High School junior Friday outside the school. A second student was beaten with a golf club nearby in what police are calling gang-related incidents.

Appearing before Cook County Judge Don Panarese on Sunday, Devonte Smith, of the 1100 block of West Washburne Avenue, was ordered held without bail.

Smith has been charged as an adult with first-degree murder, according to police News Affairs Officer Laura Kubiak.

Chicago Public Schools spokesman Mike Vaughn said the student, Ruben Ivy, who was a junior at Crane, is the 16th CPS student to be fatally shot this school year.

The shooting occurred Friday afternoon outside Crane High School, 2245 W. Jackson Blvd., according to Fire Media Affairs Asst. Director Eve Rodriguez. The incident occurred shortly after school let out about 3:05 p.m., according to CPS spokesman Malon Edwards.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's office said Ivy, of the 2600 block of West Warren Blvd., was pronounced dead at John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County at 3:44 p.m.

An autopsy Saturday revealed Ivy died from a gunshot wound to the chest. His death has been ruled a homicide.

Friday's shooting occurred in full view of one of five Chicago Police cameras stationed within a block of the Near West Side campus that is heavily patrolled by police and school administrators at dismissal time -- as a number of students watched.

And the killing, according to reports, may have been over a hat.

Police characterized the shooting as gang-related.

CPS spokesman Michael Vaughn said some 10 to 12 police squad cars are normally in the school's area at dismissal time. Vaughn also said administrators form a "strong security presence" there when the final bell rings.

The shooting was "shocking" because of the high level of security at Crane -- both in manpower and technology -- CPS Security Chief Andres Durbak noted.

The juvenile who was beaten is in critical condition at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, Henry said.

Police News Affairs Director Monique Bond said both the shooting and the golf club beating are believed to be gang-related. Chicago Police First Deputy Superintendent James Jackson said police were investigating a fight that broke out in the school earlier Friday. Jackson said the two students involved in the fight were suspended. He was unsure if the fight, which was over an expensive baseball hat, and the shooting was related.

Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford said a third young person was hospitalized in fair condition after suffering a possible seizure or asthma attack. Bond said the medical condition the male student suffered was not related to the shooting or beating incidents.