Tarlachia
06-12-2007, 23:57
LINK (http://news.aol.com/newsbloggers/2007/12/05/seven-year-old-girl-takes-six-bullets-for-mom/?ncid=NWS00010000000001)
When a horrible thing happens, no one likes to sit around and think about how it could have been more horrible. But if someone was to do that, it's usually possible to make a bad situation worse by putting a child into jeopardy. That's why this story, from Detroit, makes the word "sad" seem thin and imprecise.
There's a common, depressing story behind it -- enraged ex-boyfriend decides to shoot woman. (It might be a little more common in Detroit, which was recently named the country's most dangerous city, a designation that touched off a number of local protests and national news analyses.) But what happens when the woman's seven-year-old daughter (some reports have her as eight) jumps between her mom and the gunman? In this case, the seven-year-old, Alexis Goggins, was shot six times, suffering gunshot wounds to the eye, left temple, chin, cheek, chest and right arm. Here is an excerpt from a news report:
The girl's mother, Selietha Parker, 30, was shot in the left side of her head and her bicep by a former boyfriend, who police said was trying to kill Parker. The gunman was disarmed by police and arrested at the scene of the shooting, a Detroit gas station. Police identified him as Calvin Tillie, 29, a four-time convicted felon whom Parker had dated for six months.
Parker, who was treated and released at Detroit Receiving Hospital, is now at her daughter's bedside. She declined to comment Tuesday. The drama began to unfold just before midnight Saturday, when Parker called [her friend Aisha] Ford and asked if she and Alexis could spend the night at Ford's home. "She said she had no heat and they were very cold, and I said , sure I'll come and get you," Ford said.
Ford said she drove her burgundy 1998 Ford Expedition to Parker's home on Dwyer. She said as Parker and Alexis walked up to her vehicle she saw a man on the porch, who she assumed was a furnace repairman. She said Alexis, who walks with a limp, slipped momentarily on the icy sidewalk and as she helped the girl up, she saw the man and recognized him as Tillie. He was holding a gun.
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The police report said Tillie "without hesitation" pumped six shots into the child.
As police arrived, they saw Parker, covered in blood, running from the truck, screaming, "He just shot my baby."
The officers said Tillie came out to the vehicle holding a blue steel 9 mm semi automatic and dropped the weapon when ordered to do so. Officers said they found Alexis huddled on the floor under the steering wheel, covered in blood, surrounded by spent cartridge casings, a spent bullet on the floor and teeth on the seat. There were bullet holes in the windshield and blood inside.
The gunman was disarmed and arrested at the scene.
The girl is in stable condition, though she's already fighting an uphill battle -- when she was an infant, she had a massive stroke, and now receives special education due in part to her limited eyesight.
A fund has been set up for the girl through her elementary school. Does an incident like this raise all kinds of uncomfortable questions about justice (both justice for Tillie and the injustice of Alexis's shooting), fate, fairness, and tragedy, or is it the kind of event that raises no questions at all, only emotions?
This just enrages me. I can't believe someone would be so damn cruel. On the other hand, this kid just took six bullets and survived. The mother also took multiple bullets as well.
I wonder if they're superheroes or something...
When a horrible thing happens, no one likes to sit around and think about how it could have been more horrible. But if someone was to do that, it's usually possible to make a bad situation worse by putting a child into jeopardy. That's why this story, from Detroit, makes the word "sad" seem thin and imprecise.
There's a common, depressing story behind it -- enraged ex-boyfriend decides to shoot woman. (It might be a little more common in Detroit, which was recently named the country's most dangerous city, a designation that touched off a number of local protests and national news analyses.) But what happens when the woman's seven-year-old daughter (some reports have her as eight) jumps between her mom and the gunman? In this case, the seven-year-old, Alexis Goggins, was shot six times, suffering gunshot wounds to the eye, left temple, chin, cheek, chest and right arm. Here is an excerpt from a news report:
The girl's mother, Selietha Parker, 30, was shot in the left side of her head and her bicep by a former boyfriend, who police said was trying to kill Parker. The gunman was disarmed by police and arrested at the scene of the shooting, a Detroit gas station. Police identified him as Calvin Tillie, 29, a four-time convicted felon whom Parker had dated for six months.
Parker, who was treated and released at Detroit Receiving Hospital, is now at her daughter's bedside. She declined to comment Tuesday. The drama began to unfold just before midnight Saturday, when Parker called [her friend Aisha] Ford and asked if she and Alexis could spend the night at Ford's home. "She said she had no heat and they were very cold, and I said , sure I'll come and get you," Ford said.
Ford said she drove her burgundy 1998 Ford Expedition to Parker's home on Dwyer. She said as Parker and Alexis walked up to her vehicle she saw a man on the porch, who she assumed was a furnace repairman. She said Alexis, who walks with a limp, slipped momentarily on the icy sidewalk and as she helped the girl up, she saw the man and recognized him as Tillie. He was holding a gun.
-----
The police report said Tillie "without hesitation" pumped six shots into the child.
As police arrived, they saw Parker, covered in blood, running from the truck, screaming, "He just shot my baby."
The officers said Tillie came out to the vehicle holding a blue steel 9 mm semi automatic and dropped the weapon when ordered to do so. Officers said they found Alexis huddled on the floor under the steering wheel, covered in blood, surrounded by spent cartridge casings, a spent bullet on the floor and teeth on the seat. There were bullet holes in the windshield and blood inside.
The gunman was disarmed and arrested at the scene.
The girl is in stable condition, though she's already fighting an uphill battle -- when she was an infant, she had a massive stroke, and now receives special education due in part to her limited eyesight.
A fund has been set up for the girl through her elementary school. Does an incident like this raise all kinds of uncomfortable questions about justice (both justice for Tillie and the injustice of Alexis's shooting), fate, fairness, and tragedy, or is it the kind of event that raises no questions at all, only emotions?
This just enrages me. I can't believe someone would be so damn cruel. On the other hand, this kid just took six bullets and survived. The mother also took multiple bullets as well.
I wonder if they're superheroes or something...