PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY EDITION
Volume 121 No. 37
APRIL 20, 2013 - APRIL 26, 2013
Hope Fades for Strict Gun Laws
By Zenitha Prince Special to the AFRO
Photo by Mark Brady
Firefighter/medics at the Northview Community Fire/EMS Station 816 were honored recently as “Hometown Heroes” by Bowie Girl Scout Troop 413. The scouts visited the Bowie station to present the personnel there with several cases of cookies. Fire Chief Marc Bashoor, Deputy Fire Chief Ben Barksdale and a host of command officers joined the rescuers in accepting the gifts and participating in a tour of the apparatus and station.
Hopes for robust new guncontrol laws are withering away. Though a bipartisan group of 67 senators voted April 11 to break a filibuster, allowing a slate of proposals to reach the Senate floor for debate, support for the actual measures remains fragile. Efforts to garner the required 60 votes will be hard-fought, especially with the extended medical absence
of Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.), a likely yes vote. And, even if the Senate passes a bill, the House seems poised to reject it. For advocates, such meager support just months after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Conn., is untenable—and discouraging. Prospects took a steep dive April 17 when the Senate failed to pass a measure requiring background checks for would-be gun purchasers. “When you think about the
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The gun debate comes after the sixth anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting. fact that 20 children were shot at close range in a suburban area and legislators were fiercely debating whether they should even discuss changes in our government’s laws you have to wonder what it would
take to get them to actually pass legislation,” said Rep. Elijah Cummings (DMd.). “There are moments in history that should be Continued on A5
Looking Back
‘Shotgun Stalker’ Case Still Stuns By Zachary Lester AFRO Staff Writer It was a frightening time for the citizens of the District of Columbia, especially those in Northwest, where a series of drive-by shootings in early 1993 left residents fearful to leave their homes.
INSIDE A3
“People were scared,” said William O. Ritchie, then commander of the Metropolitan Police Department Criminal Investigations Division. “People were looking over their shoulders, not going out at night. Street crime even dropped because nobody wanted to be out and be a potential target.” The first area to be hit was Columbia Heights, where four incidents took place in less than two weeks. Then, the gunman moved to Mount Pleasant, where there were two more shootings. He later returned to Columbia Heights, where there were eight
more attacks or attempted shootings. By the time the culprit was apprehended, 14 shootings had left four people dead and five injured. It was about 8:45 p.m. on Feb. 23, when a young woman who was walking near the intersection of Holmead Place and Monroe Street NW noticed a bullet whiz by her. The same night and a short distance away, on Oak Street NW, a 22-year-old Black man was shot in the face. He was left partially blind. On Feb. 26, a gunman ran into a Columbia Heights barbershop and fatally
WUSA 9/AP
James Swann during his arrest in 1993.
Washington View Race and Racism
Continued on A4
B2
AFRO Living Landscaping and Gardening Tips
Views of the intersection of Holmead Place and Monroe Street in the Columbia Heights neighborhood.
Wanted: Good Men to Help Boys
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By Zachary Lester Special to the AFRO Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela B. Alsobrooks is on a mission and she needs the men of the region to step up.
Angela Alsobrooks
Alsobrooks is sponsoring a “Brotherhood Summit” in an attempt to uplift and unite the young men of Prince George’s. She has asked that adult men come forward to serve as mentors for the young men and assist with the event. The summit, which is scheduled for May 4th, is aimed at boys between the ages of 13 and 18. In an appearance on Fox 5 News on April 16, Alsobrooks said the event has been in the planning stages since October, the month after she held a similar program for girls. She said the topics to be discussed at the men’s summit include “character, responsibility, and accountability.” “This is our chance as a community to step up, not only to save a life, but to change the life of a young man,” said Alsobrooks. “We talk all the time about the violence. This is our chance to save and change lives.” Guest speakers and presenters scheduled to File Photo appear at the summit include Continued on A3
Minority Enterprises to Benefit from New Law
By Zenitha Prince Special to the AFRO
The enactment of legislation that shifts notfor-profits from Maryland’s Minority Business Enterprise procurement program to another preference provider program will open the door of opportunity for more Black businesses and other MBEs, supporters say. The House of Delegates, earlier this month, voted 1370 in favour of the legislation (HB48) after amendments by the Senate, which passed it (SB1066) by a vote of 30-14. The change will go into effect July 1, though it exempts current contracts and those entered into on or before July 1, 2015. “I was absolutely elated,” Continued on A5
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