Shootings Outside Teen Club Must Be Stopped

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July 6, 2009

Shootings Outside Teen Club Must Be Stopped

Early Sunday morning, there was another shooting in a downtown parking lot. The victim is fifteen years old, and is in critical condition at Erlanger hospital, according to a release from the Chattanooga Police Department. A report on NewsChannel9.com says that a crowd of teens had gathered near Club Fathom after a Fourth of July party there.

The club, at 412 Market Street, has been in the news before. Ostensibly a concert space and night spot for teens run by a Christian group, the establishment apparently also rents out its space for private parties. And it is after some of these parties that shots have been fired in nearby streets and parking lots.

I'm not blaming the club. In fact, the shootings and other criminal behavior tends to occur well after Fathom closes its doors. Youthful revelers are then set loose on the streets, with nowhere to go but...

HOME? Where is home? Where is a parent or guardian, especially of those under sixteen? Citizens are free to assemble peacefully, but to protect our children there is a curfew in effect at 11:00 p.m. There is no better enforcement of such a curfew than in the home.

But in the event that kids are out "way past bedtime" and, well, armed: what of the police department's role in enforcing the curfew, and keeping our streets safe? The downtown precinct is right in the middle of these parking lots. Do they patrol the area?

That's not all of the answer, either. Last week, a Chattanooga Housing Authority officer shot and killed a fifteen-year-old who would not disarm following a shootout and argument. An increase in confrontations certainly bears the risk of more tragic events like that one.

But these kids are fifteen. That puts them coming out of the womb in about 1994. We need effective solutions that will keep them alive and unhurt until at least the age of majority, and preferably much, much longer.

I am appealing to you, the community; the media; the network of social organizations; the law enforcement contingent; and anyone else who can work on this. We cannot stand aside and let this keep happening.

Community , News | By joe lance | 6:08 AM

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