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Courtesy the Pendleton family
Hadiya Pendleton during her trip to Washington for President Obama's inauguration.
A week after Chicago teenager Hadiya Pendleton was shot dead, her killer is still on the loose -- but her family says they are confident they will see justice.
"It's just a matter of time when this person is turned in," said Shatira Wilks, a cousin of the 15-year-old whose death made headlines across the country, focused attention on Chicago's murder rate and became part of the national debate over gun control.
Pendleton was gunned down while hanging out with friends in a park near her well-regarded school, just days after she performed with a marching band during President Barack Obama's inaugural festivities.
Police suspect she was the innocent victim of a gang member who mistook the teens for rivals on his turf. A reward for his capture has grown by the day, and cops said tips are still coming in.
"This bounty is now $40,000," said Wilks, who is acting as the family spokeswoman while Pendleton's parents prepare for her funeral Saturday.
"I think the family member or friend of the person sheltering him is viewing it as a lottery ticket, watching it go up so quickly," she said. "And I believe that at some point, they are going to turn this person in for the money."
She said whoever raised the shooter failed society by not teaching him right from wrong and is now compounding it by letting him dodge responsibility.
"How can you allow parents to suffer like this?" she asked.
Pendleton's mother, Cleopatra Cowley, and her father, Nate "Anthony" Pendleton, are facing the nightmare of burying their only daughter this weekend. A thousand or more people are expected to attend Friday's wake and the funeral the next day.
"She has a large following in death, as well as in life," Wilks said. "And we are already seeing change in Chicago as a result of her death."
She pointed to the city's decision to remove 200 cops from desk duty and put them on the streets to fight crime and several anti-crime marches and vigils that have been held since the murder.
Related:
- Handful of Chicago neighborhoods see most murders
- Chicago marchers ask Obama for help over gun violence
Chicago teenager Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed last week. Her death is inspiring people around the country to push for change to gun laws. Hadiya's mother Cleo Cowley shares her story with Rev. Al Sharpton.
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Problems in the inner city all come down to poverty, education and jobs. In not addressing these issues long ago we are in the third or fourth generation of the dysfunctionals. Society and the government would rather build bigger jails and prisons that provide adequate funding to treat the root causes of our problems. That didn't work, so they are letting the inmates out into society lesser prepared to deal with the issues that got them in jail to begin with and now they got a record which puts them five steps further behind the ones coming up behind them.It is always cheaper to do it right the first time than to deal with the problems after the fact, but the bozos which created this mess are now figuring out we do not have enough money to deal with anything. I believe this is the reason the government wants to control all of the firearms in the US. It is not to protect us, but they have figured out they wouldn't be able to deal with us, when the shooting really starts.
Condolences to the grieving family, and I do hope they catch the shooter. Hadiya sounds like a very nice, much liked girl with dreams, aspirations and a direction. So sorry that her life got cut so short. I wish the family well.
But I do hope people writing to this article stop blaming an entire beautiful city like Chicago for this murder. The same city that took her life is also the city that has come together to mourn this young woman's death and demand justice.
Chicago has some of the best universities in the world, it has some of the most amazing activists and it is a world class city. Problems in Chicago are no different than many other cities in America. But for some reason there is this visceral hatred for Chicago from people who grew up in the Midwest and the South where racism, sexism and even colonialism is still widely prevalent. Go west of Chicago and you'll get miles and miles of corn fields and wheat fields with Bobs, Bills, Johns, Jacks and Dicks who all look alike and think alike...with an unidimensional view of America.
So why blame this on Chicago? I find that strange!
I send my best wishes to the good people of Chicago, and know that they are working hard to help solve this murder...and stop future violence. Iowa city, Omaha, Minneapolis, Wisconsin (where several mass shootings took place) probably have larger number of crimes for its population than Chicago. So stop dissing Chicago so much.
Get mad at the shooter, get upset at the tragedy...but why go after a city (that is just like any other city)? Strange some of you bloggers! Why so much hatred for Chicago?
The CRIMINAL that did this should be caught , I hope he and his acomplices are ,then , prosecuted, when found guitly , given a DEATH SENTENCE , then all can be assured he won't do it again. then the rest of the law abideing americans can be left alone and not have to pay for crimes like this . after all any new laws will only effect law abideing people.
watchin ya'll (like your handle)---
but what good is the death sentence ??? they never get KILLED like they did to someone else.
they get food--medical--dental--heating and cooling --all free and even sex changes paid by u and I--
it's sick.
put the guns to good use-a bullet in the head n kick in the ditch---there would be a whole lot less of this BS
where are your brothers, obama, sharton, jackson qx, when you need then. they make idiots of yall.
Smile....true
koms52---these folks are so dumb they don't even know they are being had---but why should they care as long as we send them their free checks..
What free checks would that be RONYV??
Surely even the chicken @!$%# gang idiots have a code that you just don't kill little girls...anyone that travels in SW USA knows they have dogs that sniff every car on the road and these should be in every state, searching for drugs and guns being transported --it would also let the liberal states know how many rights are taken away due to illegal border crosser problems---I would love to see every car in places like Honolulu, HI stopped and inspected as well as every other state in the US--then maybe somebody would do something.1st they ask if you're a US citizen and then the dog does a few laps around your car--sniffing for whatever trained for.most of the idiots that voted for the crooks running this country have no idea what its like to be questioned inside your own state and what you believe to be in the USA. Most of these search areas are over 20 miles from Mexico and some out in the middle of nowhere, Seal the border and bring in military to KILL off the gangs that feed off the welfare system to begin with and are the real cause of the US drug problems---legalize pot and watch what happens to the gangs and bad drugs-crack/meth/heroin use would all go down and the gangs would kill each other while going out of business.
Cigarettes kill more people than any drugs and should be wiped off the earth,,,but as is everything in our government the system is bought and paid for by the drug and tobacco companies.
sorry to rant but this all is such BS--a little girl that was just out walking around with friends is dead
to let stupid punk gangs run cities with Chicago---who's the real idiot..
wake up America if can add 2 + 2 it still equals 4...don't be dumbed down by our lying government crooks
I bet someone will be turned in, if for nothing else the big reward. They all look alike, so they never will know for sure if they got the right killer. Over 500 killed there last year. Damn is that urban renewal or what.
I feel sorry for the parents and their loss:( But, instead of banning guns maybe we should ban stupidity instead? Just a thought............
We need a war on gang bangers, not legal gun oweners. Instead these clowns are left free to terroize their communities. The Black community needs to turn hard on these animals. Where are the Community Organizers and preacher men in Chicago? Hidin in gated communities?
I agree Mac-101...I also believe we've pussy footed around too long with Chicago. I think the National Guard should be sent in. Yes its extreme, but there is no other choice, the cops alone can't do it. Its almost like Vietnam there, its a War zone and should be treated as such.
Style, Unfortunately, the rote most likely starts at da head of da fish. Dead Fish Emanuel and the entire political/judiciary personnel need to be investigated under RICO laws. It would appear that this is a criminal operation beyond belief, or at least gross incompetency.
God keep her close.. my condolences to the family. What a horrible loss to the family and our society.
Mothers, tell your children to stay off the steps in Obama Land. It's a War Zone.
Obama needs to send some drones over his home turf.
This happened in Chicago??? Where the countries strongest gun laws already apply thanks to Obama??? Man... they must REALLY be working great for them... Can't wait till the rest of the country catches up with good ol' Chicago!
i just want to say that her name says everything ... hadiya in arabic means= (gift) and some one take that giift from her family for no reason it's so sad that we are in usa and we are not safe .....thats all i have to sayyyyyyyy
I feel so sorry for this family. An innocent girl is killed and taken before her time because of the gang violence. How heartbreaking for the mother can that be? I hope the killer will have a little bit of conscience to come forward and surrender himself to the police knowing that the reward on his head is out there. He will be caught sooner or later. He can hide, but he can't run.
Unfortunately she just happened to be "handy" for someone to give a "kick" to for shooting someone. I'll bet the shooter bought the gun and a gun show, went through the background check, and was a member of the NRA. SURE...Only in Chicago.
Semcrae, it is not an exclusively black problem. It is an AMERICAN epidemic, black, white, asian (yes, I live in LA and there are very dangerous asian gangs here) and hispanic. Until Americans as a nation can figure out how to curb the violence in this country, we will slide further down the hole in regards to respect and decent social behavior.
why does everyone think the only gangs out there are "black"gangs? very narrowed minded indeed. not everyone..but majority, yeah.
After reading the comments so far, and based on what I believe, this one by V = IR has the most meaning:
"Sadly, story's like this one will continue to be the the result of a decaying society. The real culprit here is bad parenting. I would bet my life savings that the person who did the shooting is a teen of similar age. Where was that individuals parents to teach them the difference between right and wrong, to guide their moral compass, and to teach them that you have to take responsibilities for your actions To fix the problems plaguing American streets you must first fix the problems plaguing American homes."
However, the problem also lies with the fact that discipline is discouraged. If you spank a child today, you could not only lose you child(ren), but go to jail!
Also, as commented, my mother saying, "wait 'til your father gets home" had REAL meaning! Nowadays, in many cases, there is NO father to come home.
Finally, although not married, my ex and I BOTH raised our children, including setting examples, discipline, attending parent-teacher conferences, helping with school work and knowing where they were and who they associated with. And we both worked, mostly for minimum or above minimum wage jobs. Except for some help when my first daugther was born, we never got any assistance.
Condolences to the family and I hope the killer gets brought to justice reward or not.
Cadillac
So true..and to V=IR, now thats how the TRUTH shuts out nonsense, e.i. Dr. Alchemy
Chicago has been a crime infested crooked town since the roaring 20's. The Al Capone years and Prohibition is when it was at full throttle. Im not so sure that all the publicity focused on Chicago is completely unbiased. There are tons of shootings going on in most of the larger cities in this country, they're just focusing on Chicago for some politically motivated reason. Ahh good ole politics, its always somewhere lurking in the corner. The guy who was gunned down in Manhattan in broad daylight before Christmas and countless other murders in NY and its boroughs. Don't be fooled by all of the negative attention being piled up on Chicago at the moment, its for a reason.
Yes Chicago obviously has a huge problem but so does LA, NY, Detroit, Washington etc. All of this was here before our current sitting President and will continue on when he leaves. As someone stated earlier this is an example of a quickly deteriorating society and it is scary to watch it unfold right before our eyes.
Serial Killers=middle aged white males. any questions?
OOk OOk you need to get a dose of reality my friend. If blacks are only 12% of the population then how are they creating ALL of the murders? I don't think that sketchy math is adding up for ya. There couldn't possibly be enough black criminals to go around my friend. Lets not forget you're counting the entire black population in that so called 12% and all of em aren't criminals, so now your math is getting even sketchier. How in the world does the now 2% or so of the criminal element in the black population get around to doing all that murdering??? Are the Chinese, Japanese, Armenian and Russian mobs hiring that small group to do all there murders too? How about the Hispanic gangs, blacks killing for them too? I mean who else would be finishing up all the syndicate murders? Damn that small criminal black element sure does get around!
Here's a clue for you. You can get statistics to say whatever you want them to say. Go take a Stat 1 and Stat2 college level course and you'll figure it out...and by the way you didn't get your BS FBI/DOJ info from them baby. Whites commit the most crimes THATS what the real stats tell ya. DO THE MATH...stop falling for every overt news story concerning black crime. If they started filling the news with all of the white crime, there wouldn't be enough time in the day to read the @$ckin paper.
I'm just so sorry for this poor girl's family. I cry at the very thought of burying my only daughter. God bless them and bring them comfort.
You are either a child behind the keyboard..or a grown white man with the mind of a child. nothin you post is fruitful dude. dont you have something better to do with..your life. wow. your capacity of thinking may profile you as a sociopath/serial killer..or maybe, just maybe, the person that actually killed this little girl.
Thats hilarious C.O.R.E.creator, a bit of levity and someone who agrees Ook Ook is nuts, banana cream pie, way over the rainbow...WAAAAAY over the rainbow.
Since when does Obama care about peoples' Constitutional rights?
Allow, me to first say that I am originally from Chicago and this violence has always been there and it is rapidly getting worse. Right now is not the time to point the finger at the parents simply becasue you can raise your children right and they still turn out badly. We all have been given the free will by Jesus Christ to choose how we will live. Now what happened was a travesty but until this nation falls on its face and turn back to Jesus things are going to get worse. Everyone has so many other things to say but to the family I understand and I am praying and interceding on your behalf my entire church is praying for your family. We pray the Lord will comfort your very heart and take some of the pain away. Vengence belongs to the Lord he has not left you nor has he forsaken you. Dont let your heart grow cold I can tesitify that the Lord will give you the strength to make it through this painful ordeal. Jesus is yet in control and he cares for you and loves you