By Roger Caldwell
Almost everyone in America has a gun, getting ready to buy one, or has access to one. Many who have one are ready to use it, because it gives them a sense of power. It does not matter the time of day or where they are, everyone will pull the trigger.
In the city of Orlando many refuse to admit there is gang activity, but it is extremely dangerous when you are buying or selling drugs. When an individual rides around in town with a purple Lamborghini, it is not difficult to determine his occupation. Selling drugs in Orlando is big business, and people will kill you if you owe someone a bill that is not being paid.
Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith and homicide detectives provided an update on two separate shootings at a press conference on Wednesday morning 4-12-2023. The first shooting happened early Easter Sunday morning, and the second shooting started when a teenager and a man began shooting at each other near a community park.
Guns are the leading cause of death among children in the United States of America, and it’s getting worse. Not car crashes, or cancer, but guns. Attempts to limit the availability of guns are not working, because in Orlando Easter was extremely bloody.
Police said the first suspect, 28-year-old Lacorvis Daley, got into an argument over the phone with his live-in girlfriend, and demanded she come home, or he would hurt her mother. At 2:18 a.m. the mother sent a text to the girlfriend saying: “Help. He’s shooting a gun. Call police.”
The girlfriend called 911 at 2:21 a.m. and when the officers arrived, Daley came out of the house and began shooting at the police. The officers returned fire and killed Daley. Inside the house the police found the girlfriend’s mother and daughter – 13-year-old Damionna Reed and 69-year-old Carole Fumore – shot and killed.
In the second mass killing, three people were killed, including an innocent woman, and two others were hurt. A teenager and a man began shooting at each other following an argument near a community park in Orlando. Police identified the victim as Patriza Deterville 33, one of three innocent females hit with bullets while on a nearby porch. During the gunfire exchange between 16-year-old Tristan Morgan and 38-year-old Jamal Watson, Patriza was also shot and killed.
The other two victims are recovering, and a third shooter – a female – was believed to be a part of the incident. As the situations are being investigated, everyone must determine if it is safe to live in certain neighborhoods in the Black community.
There are too many people living in the Black community after the pandemic with mental health needs, and receiving no care. Black people as well as Latinos are facing real barriers in getting the care they need for mental health concerns.
On bloody Easter Sunday, the Blacks who had the guns were not thinking rational, because they did not care if innocent people and children were affected with the shooting. There should be an attempt to limit the availability of guns in the community, but our governor has opened up the opportunity for everyone to get a gun.
Healing while Black is a national emergency in Black children, and there are increasing child suicides. As a result of Covid-19, many adults need trauma recovery centers to encourage mental health discussions.
There must be more mental health spaces in the Black community that is encouraging mental wellness. If more than 40% of Black Americans after the pandemic need mental health, than trauma recovery centers are needed throughout the Black community in Florida, and around the country.
Too many Blacks in our community are sick, and they own or have access to guns.
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