We Can Do Better! Chicago Baby Gunned Down While Being Changed

Baby’s gang-affiliated father was the target of street violence, police say

Gang violence in Chicago has long passed the ridiculous threshold, but the latest headlines to come out of the city suggest nobody – not even local politicians and residents rocked by the violence – is taking it seriously enough. Jonylah Watkins, a 6-month-old girl, became the latest victim of Chicago gang violence on Tuesday. A gunman ambushed her father on Monday while he was changing her diaper along a street on the city’s South Side. The baby was hit by five bullets. Her father, Jonathan Watkins, who is a gang member with a long criminal history, was listed in serious condition from his injuries, Chicago police said. It’s as if the shooting deaths of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton and several others this year wasn’t enough to spring local, state and federal governments into immediate action. This is a state of emergency! (Associated Press)

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