It's January 17 and Homicide Is out of Control in Cleveland
Samuel Tinsely, 33
Thomas McGrath, 38
Joron Crawford, 39
Daquan Dix, 24
Pierre McCoy, 18
Angelic Gonzalez, 34
Jayden Baez, 16
Miguel Gonzalez, 69
Anthony Boothe, 48
Jesse Kessman, 28
Ezjehn Moss, 22
Unidentified male, 57
Unidentified male, age unknown (information was still unavailable at time of publishing)
Unidentified woman, 43 (information was still unavailable at time of publishing)
Jesse Kessman, 28
Ezjehn Moss, 22
These are the people who have been shot and killed since January 1 in Cleveland. There might be more by the time this article appears Tuesday morning, but right now there is a reported death for every day so far in 2023.
One victim was waiting for a city bus after school. Another got into a fight with his sister’s girlfriend. In one of the most recent events, a man shot his father, sister, nephew, brother-in-law and his brother-in-law’s 8-year-old daughter execution-style inside a house. Only the 8-year-old survived.
Some died innocently; others died during shootouts. One man committed suicide after shooting his girlfriend and his girlfriend’s dog. The girlfriend and dog survived. (The article linked includes information on how to contribute to the dog’s medical bills.)
Are things really that bleak, or are we just off to a really bad year? Back in October of 2022, a local news station noted that violent crimes were down in Cleveland, with felonious assaults using firearms declining 22.6% in 2022 vs. 2021. By December, Cleveland.com noted that Cuyahoga County, of which Cleveland is a part, exceeded 200 homicides three years in a row, something it hadn’t done in 40 years. The article quoted Hugh Shannon, director of operations at the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s office, telling the county council that “deaths due to gun violence are up, and the number of times decedents had been shot is going up.” Most of the shooting deaths in 2022 were in the city of Cleveland.
Following the shooting death of high school student Pierre McCoy earlier this month, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb called for “a national campaign, a national moment in this country to address gun violence.” Also this month, the mayor and Cleveland city council announced they were developing plans to make Cleveland safer, despite the fact that the city is down about 200 police officers. That could include adding a technology called ShotSpotter throughout the city. The technology, used by some cities eager to fight violent crime, listens for gunfire and alerts police officers to the exact location.
Would stricter gun laws help reduce violent crime in Cleveland? Ohio is an open-carry state, and recently it became the 23rd state in the country to allow adults to carry a gun without a permit. But many of the guns confiscated in Cleveland are actually illegally obtained. Between 2016 and 2021, the number of guns reported stolen increased by 72 percent. “The more guns that are out on the street in the illegal stream of commerce is worrisome because they’re going to be used in crimes,” Ryan Bokoch, supervisor of Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office’s Crime Strategies Unit, said during an interview in May 2022. The prevalence of stolen guns on the street makes it easier for teenagers, adults with criminal records and people with mental health issues to obtain guns.
Another problem: The city of Cleveland has only half the homicide detectives it should, resulting in almost 40 percent of homicides going unsolved. That means some violent criminals remain at large, giving them the opportunity to strike again.
What, though, is the reason behind the violence? It doesn’t appear to be robbery; for instance, someone being shot and killed during a convenience store holdup. Some appear to be targeted; others involved fighting that turned fatal.
It would seem that 1.) increased anger, 2.) lack of respect for human life and 3.) a sense of hopelessness in one’s own life drive the current violent crimes and murders in Cleveland, and perhaps elsewhere in the country. You can take away guns, but it’s harder to take away feelings embedded within human beings.
Some local entities are trying to draw attention to the crisis. E.F. Boyd & Son Funeral Home had a billboard put up in the community it serves that reads “Stop the violence or face the mourning after.” In a recent column for Cleveland.com, Ken Wood, director of communications for Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio, expressed concern over the growth of “teens and young adults murdering each other.” Personal responsibility and critical thinking in dangerous situations can be difficult for teenagers, whose developing brains often rely more on emotions, Wood wrote.
What about adults, then? Have their minds been firmly cemented in a kill-or-be-killed attitude that can’t be altered?
Experts believe that violence is a learned behavior and therefore it can also be unlearned. Thoughts of violent acts can be removed from the mind, but how do people in dangerous communities or who have witnessed violent behavior all of their lives even know this is possible? How do they find the resources they need to do so, and how can they be convinced that taking the time to reduce violent tendencies from their lives is vital? How do we instill self-respect, respect for others and pride in communities in the midst of tragedies?
Homicide seems out of control in Cleveland in early 2023. Is it possible to pause and change course for the rest of the year? In upcoming articles, the Critical Reader will be talking with some local experts who are trying to do just that.