JON GLOVER CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST
“Economic forces eventually conspired against South Park Mall. As AT&T and GM began pulling out of Shreveport, South Park Mall began to feel the effects. Montgomery Ward closed in 1999. JC Penney closed the following year. Crime, or at least the perception of crime, at the mall was an issue. A teenager was shot in the head in the mall parking lot in 1999. And in 2000, a 73- year-old man was the victim of an armed robbery in a mall bathroom. The mall's decline eventually led to its demise.” — Excerpts from an article published in The Times July 19, 2019, that spoke to the closing of two malls in the Shreveport-Bossier Area.
Is Mall St. Vincent next?
Economically, our city had been struggling long before COVID-19. And the news from Saturday July 4, does not help. Another shooting, two men, young, black. Will the news ever change? Not if we don’t get a handle on why our young people find the answer to altercation is shooting.
At the Mall St. Vincent’s Dillard’s an altercation resulted in a shooting, and death. Two young men, black, 22-yearold males shooting another male, 19 years old. Now what? One dead, another being charged with second-degree murder and why? Neither apparently knew how to address a dispute other than force — in this case, shooting.
What’s wrong with this picture? Two young men giving up their lives for what, specifically? What was so important that a young man took the life of another young man, both black?
The question I pose is, how do we stop the infusion of shootings, especially those shootings that lead to death?
What I know is this: We have a problem that continues to spiral out of control here in our city, and it isn’t the fault of either the Shreveport Police Department or the mayor.
It starts at home — i.e., community, family and even home. Something is leading our young people continuously down the path of darkness. What’s not being said that keeps these acts of violence continuing?
Where my answer lies and resides is with God.
It appears that God is nowhere in this equation, is He? So what do we do? Where do we go from here? How do we gain the attention of these young and older people who keep this crime spree going?
What do we, you and me, do to stop the violence in our city? Who will help us? Who will save all of us? Our communities are dying. Our families are dying. Our homes are dying. When will we stop the bleeding?
THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN THE July 10 ISSUE OF FOCUS SB - THE INQUISITOR.