Somebody Knows Something

The news organizations were unable to provide much in the way of detail. The police are still baffled. We will hear more about this story, but from who? And when?

Here's the story I'm talking about reprinted from stltoday.com- _______________________________________________________
Teen is found shot to death in his bedroom
By Denise Hollinshed
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/10/2006

East St. Louis police are investigating the shooting death of a 14-year-old boy
found early Tuesdayin his bedroom. Police found Tony Dean with a gunshot wound
in the back of his head at his home in the 700 block of North 52nd Street about
2:15 a.m., said East St. Louis Police Chief James Mister. Tony was pronounced
dead at 3:01 a.m. at Kenneth Hall Regional Hospital in East St. Louis.
Mister said that at the time of the shooting, the boy's mother, Sharon Blanchard,
and seven other people were inside the house and that a couple had been standing
outside. Mister expressed exasperation that no one came forward to say what had happened.
"Everybody in the house said they heard a loud noise," a disgusted-looking Mister said
outside the boy's home Tuesday morning. Crime scene technicians appeared to be
gathering evidence from under a broken window on the front of the frame home.
Mister said the house had been hit by bullets from previous shootings. Tony was an
eighth-grader at Clark Middle School, where Principal Roland Coleman called in
social workers, counselors and East St. Louis police chaplains to assist grieving students.
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Here's a young life that is snuffed out because a bullet just happens to find it's way into his head at 2 o'clock in the morning? Come on. The mother was there. A bunch of other people were either in or around the house when it happened. I'm not a cop. But, I don't think it takes one to realize that all of these people are covering up the real story. Somebody has likely intimidated the group into not talking.

I just feel sorry for a young person that has had his opportunity to live denied because he was unfortunate enough to be born into a life that put him in those circumstances. I don't know if Tony Dean of East St. Louis would have gone on to great things. But, even before he could get to the point where he had some sort of control over his future, the factors of his existence ganged up on him to snuff out his chance. Those of us who have never been in such a life situation should count our blessings each time we hear of a story like this.

Now, which one of the people in the house at the time of this young fellow's death is going to have the courage and character to set things right? Somebody needs to tell the police what really happened in that house Tuesday morning. Young people of the area need to know that their lives can't end like this without someone being responsible, and being held accountable.