Late Sunday night, an intruder broke through the front door of Bariffe's Princeton Park residence and fatally shot him inside the kitchen, police said. His slaying marked a grim milestone: the 435th homicide in Chicago this year, tying the total number of killings for all of 2011 with more than two months still to go in 2012.
Less than half a day later and about six miles away, Carlos Alexander was returning home Monday from buying a newspaper and coffee when he was gunned down outside his apartment in the gang-infested South Chicago neighborhood, pushing the homicide total past the 2011 mark.
Two more slayings were reported Monday evening, bringing the total number of homicides so far this year to 438.
When I began this post on October 29, the death toll was at 435. Since that time this article was updated because the number of deaths escalated.
Since I have moved to the Chicago area, it has been hard to get used to homicides as a daily occurrence. I try to keep up on the news, so I review the Chicago Tribune almost daily as well as my local news in Skokie. I even review RedEye's homicide map to see where these homicides are occurring. As you can see, most of the homicides are in south and southwest parts of Chicago. This really doesn't take into account the suburbs. I don't know if there is a map out there that does. In fact, I would wager that when/if murders occur in the suburbs occur, you hear about it nationwide. When many of the murders occur in the city, they usually, but not always, only make local news headlines.
The police are trying new tactics on dealing with neighborhoods that have a lot of gun-related violence, and I believe a lot of this involves working with the community, trying to oust the gangs. Chicago is still a gang town, though. In fact, I have done some web-related-research on the gangs. I came across a website devoted to Chicago Gangs, but I don't know how recently it's been updated. Here's a link to a map of all the gangs just on the north side of Chicago. If this page is old, the amount of gangs probably has not changed too much. Also, several police say there is a lot of splintering and in-fighting within the gangs.
I'm from a small town. It was like a cross between a John Mellencamp and Garrison Keillor vision of a small town. There were problems, but honestly, there was not a homicide rate to speak of. And usually any homicide was a domestic situation. Still tragic, but different from what I see or hear about up here. Now within the past twenty years, small towns are getting inaugurated into the drug world with meth. It has become the scourge and destroyer of small towns and small town families. Easy to make, cheap to buy, and completely and utterly devastating to the addicts, as well as their friends, families and communities.
With all that, any homicide in a small town is something that still stops traffic. It settles over a small town like a pallor of darkness for months and months. Hell, an untimely death of anyone in a small town is devastating to the community. I can still remember most people that died within the small town I grew up in. I even wrote a poem for the family of one of the victims.
So, when I moved to Springfield, Illinois, I felt like I was moving to a "big city." It actually had an annual homicide rate. I don't use this measurement for all things, but it seems to be a good if not macabre way to gauge the city you are moving to. There was actually more of every kind of crime in Springfield. More break-ins, robberies, vandalism, rapes, etc.
Yet Springfield was still a small town in many ways. Sure you had plenty to do, places to eat, places to shop and visit. But you still ran into people that you knew. Or if you didn't know them, you saw them often. I think Springfield also had a small town complex, but I won't go there now.
So, I get married to Heather who lives and works in Deerfield at the time. I land my first job in downtown Chicago. I was taking the train from Highwood to downtown every day. And every day I would visit the Chicago news websites and read about 3 or more murders a day. A day. At first everything was so incredibly overwhelming to me (read: small town guy in big city), that this sort of thing didn't stick out to me as much. It bothered me to read about children getting killed, but I don't think I fully comprehended it all.
But after we moved to Skokie, which is just a stone's throw away from the north edge of Chicago, I became more aware of the daily tragedy. Maybe it was because I was concerned for our safety. Or maybe it was because Skokie just felt like more of "the" city. I began reading about these incidents, trying to understand why or what was happening. Often feeling rather distraught or upset over the deaths. Many of these deaths may have been gang-related, but they were not just gang members that were killed. They were men and women just trying to live their lives who were shot in cross fire. I remember reading about a child sitting on his grandfather's lap. Both of them shot by a stray bullet. The other day a young man was shot by a stray bullet while sitting in his room playing xBox. Playing xBox! I play xBox!
It's easy to look at these events and see them as a number. A statistical problem. 438 is a high number, as the article says, even for Chicago. And it seems to happen mainly in certain areas of town. And for now, we live in a safe area of Chicagoland. So, I can remain safe and somewhat apathetic about this issue in Chicago. And honestly, I really don't know what to do. To assume I could do anything is the height of middle-class arrogance. I think to assume that more legislation related to guns will help this is foolish as well. It's well-meaning, but it's foolish. I don't want to get into the politics of this, though.
I get angry, though. Anger at the gangs. Anger at the police who don't know how to stop it. Anger at myself for being so aloof about it all. Anger for my own prejudices and ignorant ideas about all of this. Anger at my laziness for not wanting to find out more.
So, I think it was back in March I decided to try something new. I often find myself praying for big things in the world, like peace in the middle-east, Afghanistan, for flood victims, etc., and my prayers often felt like I was sending a Hallmark sympathy card to the victims. They were nice and supportive, but I don't know if I expected them to do a whole lot other than to let them know "I was thinking of them." Well, God's been changing my heart in this area. I've seen some things and experienced some things that really show how effective prayer can be. And I was challenged by my minister to pray for something and not worry about how or if God will answer it. Believe He can and will, but it's not up to me.
So I decided to throw down the gauntlet to God.
I decided to start praying that there would be one day without a homicide. Just one day.
And then it happened. Actually, the first time it happened it was for three days. I asked for one and God delivered three days of no homicides in the city of Chicago. So I kept on praying. Later the number jumped up to nine days.
And then I read the above article about the number of homicides. On the surface I can look at it and say, well, the days that were peaceful were cancelled out by the days of multiple homicides. Was I not specific enough, God? I didn't mean for evil to work over time in order to make up for the peaceful days. I know that's not how it works, but it was disheartening. I am still thankful for the days God allowed peace in the city of Chicago. I will continue to pray for days of peace. For now. Just one day at a time. If more days happen, praise God for that.
I want to do more. And at the same time, I don't want to doubt the efficacy of prayer. God can and does perform miracles. I hope you can join me in praying for peace in Chicago. And if not Chicago, for the peace in your city or town. It may not be murder, but it may be domestic violence, molestation, rape, drug abuse, etc. Whatever it is, it's tragic and sad and someone needs a voice. We simply can't know or save all victims, but when we pray, I believe we give voice to the victims and oppressed. Jesus was brutalized, beaten and killed, and He suffered in silence.
Whether or not they threaten my safety or well-being, or if they live near or far away from Heather and I, or if they are perpetrators or victims, they are made in His image. Jesus is in all of them. He suffers with them and He dies with them.
I will leave you with this paragraph from the Tribune article:
In the city's 436th murder on Monday morning, Carlos Alexander, 33, a father of four, was returning from a quick trip to a local convenience store when he was shot from behind in front of his home in the 7900 block of South Escanaba Avenue, according to family members and police. Alexander's sister opened the front door and saw him collapse to the ground, gasping for air. He died later at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.Please pray with an expectant heart.
