The whole nation can only feel shock and revulsion at the shooting of 11-year-old Rhys Jones who had spent the evening playing football and, according to an eye witness, was gunned down by a youth with his face covered by a hood, who rode past on a BMX bicycle.
How could we have sunk to such an all-time low and produced young people who behave with such evilness and depravity, to have no regard for human life, to target an innocent boy in such a vile and callous way? How could the unthinkable have happened this way?
It’s the ordinariness of the situation that makes this particularly tragic, the fact that Rhys was on his way home from football training with two friends, still wearing his kit when he was shot. My sons have been to football training this week too, just like thousands of others around the country who are passionate about the game. They walked home too, and arrived safely, thankfully.
Merseyside’s chief constable, Bernard Hogan Howe, today said the murder of Rhys Jones was the most shocking crime he had witnessed in his 20 year police career.
Two males aged 14 and 18 have been arrested on suspicion of Rhys’ murder in Croxteth, Liverpool.
I’m not shocked by anything anymore and I doubt the Chief Constable of Mersyside is either. Perhaps if the force was concerned less with political correctness and their own pensions than getting officers on the beat this child might have been spared.
Oh – and the next cop who uses that stupid phrase “They were in the wrong place at the wrong time” thoroughly deserves to get decked by a hard-pressed, tax-paying member of the public.
Kevin Peat
Ex Cop.
What I ponder upon more than anything else these days is why, oh why, so many young people wish to, and are able to, arm themselves with such lethal weapons.
I ponder over the availability of firearms and ammunition, and the ease at which they are distributed.
I ponder over the EU’s policy of ‘open borders’ and whether it has been a contributing factor to the growth in gun and drug related crimes.
I ponder too, whether the introduction of a seriously hard nosed Border Police Force might, just might, be effective in reducing the supply of these evil goods and help reduce the pain being felt by too many mothers.
How awful that such a thing happened to Rhys. He was not in the wrong place etc; he was set upon by some cowardly thugs.
I agree with electro-kevin. Children should be able to walk home from football safely.
There is lots of talk about zero tolerance, but no real action. Police are stifled by bureaucracy and political correctness. And the youth of today are being left to literally rot (see my post today – http://racheljoyce.blogspot.com/2007/08/tatties-and-neets-crop-rots-while-our.html )
There are areas in Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham and London, where children this age are seen on street corners with guns as look outs for drug dealers.
Either this was a hit for whatever reason, or an unlucky shot by youngsters who had somehow got hold of a gun and were playing baddies without thinking of the consequences and became baddies.
It was only under Charles Clarke that a new police station, to serve the local community, opened up 200 yards from my house. It has been a ghost town for weeks now. I don’t know why it has ceased to be operational. What I do know is that if there is an incident the police now have to travel long distances to reach it.
It is incidents like this that make you feel quite vulnerable.
I have nothing to say. I don’t know what to say. I am full of revulsion and disbelief. That is all I can say.
The question is, how did the youths get hold of a gun in the first place? This is such a shocking and heartbreaking story.
What happened doesn’t shock me, things like this have been happening for years, except only now the media are reporting it. There is much I can say about this issue, but let me just say this…
Instead of asking what has happened to our kids, ask where these guns have come from and who supplied them. Those are the people who are ultimately responsible.
It is just terrible, Ellee and is in the headlines here, too. It was heartbreaking watching the parents being interviewed last night and I’m not sure they should have been at this stage. What do you think about that?
I feel uncharacteristically spiteful making a dig knowing your area of work, Ellee – against you and yours it’s no fun, I can assure you:
The gun likely came through the recently accessioned eastern EU states via our porous borders. Yet EU MPs will have it that all that comes from this body is good and that to import immigrant plumbers is better than helping disfunctional British youth onto proper apprenticeship schemes.
Kevin, Our border security is poor, I agree, but isn’t there also mention that the gun was bought from the Internet? The image of kids riding around our streets on bikes with a loaded gun and killing an innocent young kid is the most shocking thing I have heard for years.
I think many of us know the truth of this but don’t want to admit it. I suspect it goes something like this:
If families, schools, and society doesn’t interact with you people effectively and positively then there is a default setting of behaviour at the Lord of the Flies / Clockwork Orange level.
Government – especially socialism – has done much to prevent these relationships from working. Schools and teachers have had their authority stripped. Parents are second guessed by social workers and we all know its just easier to cross over to the other side of the street ( as Jesus suggested 2000 years ago is often the reaction of people who should know better. )
Last Christmas I was in Toxteth in Liverpool and went out carol singing with the small group who make up one of the local Churches. The local kids we’re cheeky, but friendly. Latter (perhaps linked to the local off licence and its wares) they them small stones – but it was more of an appeal to be included and to interact than to disrupt.
On the way home we saw a high jacked car being joy riden. One of the men with us was the local volunteer Youth worker. When the police came and were spotted by the Youths they ran of in every direction – easily out manoeuvring the police. But that Youth worker challenged the kids latter and they looked down sheepishly. If I’d done that I would have got a earful at best – but he’d earned the right to be heard.
We need more people like that man – and perhaps more of us to spend the time that he does. It would be best if those people were the kids parents and teachers, but it may also have to be some of us.
I don’t think this is an all-time low at all. Child-killers strike every once in a while. There was the Jamie Bulger murder that was just as, and if not more shocking. Before that there was the Mary Bell case here in my neck of the woods.
There always will be people who are driven by a sadistic urge to kill. If this person had not had a gun with which to kill, chances are he would have used a knife. I think we can seperate this tragedy from the drugs related gang warfare that has recently blighted our inner-city ghettos. This was just a sadastic act of murder. All that is open for debate in such cases is the matter of punishment.
Both Mary Bell and Jamie Bulgers killers are now free people – is this right? In 10 years will another convicted murderer be released onto the street with a new identity and state protection?
These people are not fit to partake in civilised society, they should just be humanely dispatched of if you ask me.
“Either this was a hit for whatever reason, or an unlucky shot by youngsters who had somehow got hold of a gun and were playing baddies without thinking of the consequences and became baddies.” (Jailhouselawyer)
I shudder at the consequences of allowing an axe-killer to become a social commentator. This was not ‘playing baddies’, I used to ‘play baddies’ with toy guns as do many children today. This was a sadistic crime for which the killer(s) should be severely punished. Once caught they should never be allowed out to bleat at us about the misfortunes that ‘drove’ them to kill.