After an emotionally rewarding weekend trip to St. Augustine, Florida to join my family to celebrate my uncle's 90th birthday - I was in a wonderful mood. I had also done an early morning interview with Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager, who were in town to do "TODAY with Hoda and Jenna" after the two had been to Jazz Fest over the weekend.
My good mood was interrupted by the reality of numerous shootings over the weekend. As much as I wanted to ignore the shootings and get right to the fun stuff - I felt compelled to talk about the ugly trend of seeing shooting after shooting, with no indication that anything is going to change.
Friday night at Mandina's, an iconic New Orleans restaurant, a waiter was gunned down as he waited on tables outside, and a woman from Chicago celebrating her birthday with friends in town for Jazz Fest was hit with a bullet in her back. The two suspects have not been identified but speculation is that the shooting may have been gang-related. Also in New Orleans, an 11-year-old and a 13-year-old were shot in self-defense as they attempted an armed robbery.
Sunday night, a 5-year-old boy was shot at a home in Avondale, LA. The young boy died at the hospital. Also on Sunday, one person was killed and one was injured after a shooting in the bayou town of Thibodaux, LA.
In neighboring Bay St. Louis, two high school students were killed and four were injured during a shooting at a prom party. All of the victims in that shooting were aged 15 to 18 and the suspected gunman is 19.
A manhunt continues in Texas for a man who was a recurring illegal immigrant after he burst into a family's home and killed five family members including a 9-year-old boy. The 38-year-old suspect was apparently retaliating against the family for complaining about him firing guns in his front yard and waking up their infant son.
The diversity of the settings and the reasons for the rash of shootings left me with no option but to address the harsh realities we are facing.
In the audio player above is the justified rant that dominated the beginning of our show today on WWL in New Orleans and the calling out of the leaders who refuse to address the real issues as a tacit way of protecting the segment of the population from which those leaders gain money and power. Ironically, the very same segment of the population is most threatened by the realities that are not being addressed.
