News stories involving young Americans killing or getting killed—often with guns—have become commonplace these days.

The anti-gunners respond to these reports with renewed calls for gun control. The pro-gunners demand better and more rapid enforcement of existing laws.

But one can’t help but stop and wonder if both the victims and their assailants are not equal victims in a society that has gone off the rails. Much of Rep. J. C. Watts (R-OK) keynote address at the NRA annual convention dealt precisely with this question. (See the summary of Watts’ remarks elsewhere in this issue.)

But the mayhem continues, and apparently will continue into the future as people point fingers at everyone but themselves.

The sheer savagery of some of these attacks is astonishing. So too is the apparent disregard for anyone else.

Chief’s Granddaughter
One story in recent days had to do with the murder of the Los Angeles police chief’s granddaughter, not by someone who wanted to kill her, but by an assailant who wanted to kill the person she was with.

The wire service reports read something like this:
The granddaughter of Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard Parks was shot to death in a restaurant parking lot by an assailant who was apparently aiming for her friend, according to Associated Press.

Lori Gonzalez, 20, was shot several times by a man who walked up and opened fire on the car in the driveway of a Popeye’s chicken restaurant in south Los Angeles at 10:15 p.m. Sunday, LAPD Lt. Horace Frank said.

No arrests had been made as this issue of Gun Week goes to press. Police said they had no information about a possible motive for the attack.

But it is surprising that no one near the restaurant saw what happened and came forth to give evidence to the police. Perhaps, as with so many other similar incidents, no one wanted to get involved.

The attacker apparently was aiming for Gonzalez’s passenger, a 20-year-old friend, police said.

“He ducked and he was not injured,” Officer Jason Lee said.

Detectives have begun examining surveillance tapes from a gas station near the shooting scene in hopes that the camera recorded footage of the killer.

Gonzalez of one of Parks’ three daughters, Felicia, Lee said. She was in Los Angeles visiting her mother, who is divorced from Gonzalez.

Bruce Smith, a resident of the neighborhood where Gonzalez was shot, said safety concerns keep him away from area restaurants late at night.

“Gang problems, drug problems—we have in this part of town. I wouldn’t consider it 100% safe,” he said.

Florida Teacher
Meanwhile, across the country in Florida, a community mourned the death of a popular teacher at the hands of a 13-year-old boy, who was described as an “honor student.”

As the Lake Worth, FL, community gathered to mourn the shooting death of a beloved teacher, prosecutors began to determine what charges will be brought against the 13-year-old suspect.

State Attorney Barry Krischer said on May 29 that he would ask a judge to seat a grand jury to consider legal options for the teen, Nathaniel Brazill. Krischer has said that he wants Brazill tried as an adult, according to Associated Press.

Funeral services were scheduled for May 30 for 35-year-old English teacher Barry Grunow.

AP reported that about 500 people attended a rally against violence and in honor of Grunow on Memorial Day. The gathering was loosely organized by a group calling itself “Ask, Listen, Learn,” which is made up of community activists who came together after the shooting.

As usual, the media treated the story with the typical approach. Once again it was surprise registered that such a good boy could be responsible for so horrible an act.

“If you asked me to pick one kid out of a 1,000 to do something like this, he wouldn’t be the one,” said Palm Beach County Schools Superintendent H. Benjamin Marlin, sounding like some of the people who commented about John Hinkley after he tried to assassinate President Reagan.

Brazill earned A’s and B’s, according to Nat Harrington, a spokesman for the school board. “He had no problems of any kind, prior to this.”

The youngster had been sent home by an assistant principal Friday May 26 around 1 p.m. for throwing water balloons in class. According to police, he rode his bicycle back to school a couple hours later with a .25-caliber semi-automatic pistol in his pocket.

The gun—a compact, 5-inch model called a Raven—was loaded with four cartridges he had stolen from his grandfather’s dresser drawer a week before, Police Chief William Smith said.

Brazill tried to talk to two girls in Grunow’s class and when the teacher told him to leave, police say, he pulled out the gun and shot Grunow in the head.

Apparently, with young people today, they don’t want to be disrespected, but they have no respect for others.

Brazill, on his bicycle, flagged down a police officer about a quarter of a mile from the school and surrendered. He told investigators he liked Grunow, who was popular with students.

Days after the shooting, it was learned that two youths claimed Brazill was brandishing a handgun three days before he allegedly shot Grunow in front of students on the last day of classes, police said.

The youths, who were not identified by police, told investigators that Brazill showed them the gun near his home on May 23, but they didn’t tell anyone about the incident, said Police Chief William Smith.

Investigators have examined the bedroom dresser drawer where Brazill’s grandfather, Elmore McCray, 75, claims he kept the handgun that police say Brazill used to kill Grunow.

The 911 tapes show the first officer arrived at the school within 90 seconds after the call was made. Recordings between emergency units show police had Brazill in custody 4&Mac251; minutes from the time the call was made, said Lt. Raychel Houston, a police spokeswoman.

A lawyer for Grunow’s family called security at the school ineffective, and said his clients haven’t ruled out suing Phoenix Arms, the manufacturer of the Raven handgun allegedly used in the shooting.

Wendy’s Killings
Meanwhile, in New York City, police reportedly have arrested two suspects in connection with the callous killing of five workers in a Wendy’s restaurant. In addition to the five who were killed, two employees were wounded, one critically.

On May 24, two men entered the Wendy’s shortly after closing time. They apparently knew where to look for what they wanted.

Before taking about $2,000 in cash, they forced the victims into a back room where they were tied up. Then they proceeded to kill them one by one with a shot to the head.

“This is the most callous, worst crime that I’ve seen in a long time,” Police Commissioner Howard Safir said. He said one or more of the employees knew the suspects.

Reportedly, the gunmen asked for the manager by name, then went to his basement office, police said. The manager then summoned the six remaining employees over an intercom.

The gunmen ordered the six men and one woman into a walk-in refrigerator, bound and gagged them, told them to lie face down and shot them, Safir said. Four died at the scene, one on the way to the hospital.

One victim’s brother said the shooters’ intention was clear.

“They killed them all execution style,” Kevin Johnson said. “Everybody that was there got shot in the face, or shot in the head.”

People who commit crimes like these are not children. They are not regular people as the media would suggest. They are the products of a very sick society.