January 1, Chicago Gang Culture Spills Over

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• Three men with Chicago gang affiliations have been charged in the fatal shooting of three women in Beverly Hills, California.
• The women, all from Chicago, were killed while on vacation in January 2023.
• The three men charged are 28-year-old Dejean Thompkins, 22-year-old Dontae Williams, and 28-year-old Daries Stanford.
• Thompkins is also charged with a murder that took place in North Hollywood in December 2022.

The news from Beverly Hills, California, is grim. Three women, Iyana Hutton, Nenah Davis, and Destiny Sims – all from Chicago – were vacationing, only to have their lives cut short by bullets. Now, charges have been leveled against three men, also from Chicago, for their alleged roles in the horrific event.

The alleged killers – Dejean Thompkins, Dontae Williams, and Daries Stanford, all with ties to Chicago gangs – represent a bleeding wound in our society, one that we’ve turned a blind eye to for too long. This violent crime has reached beyond the borders of Chicago, staining the palm-lined streets of Beverly Hills with the lifeblood of three innocent women.

The words of LA Police Capt. Jonathan Tippet echo in our ears: “This callous violent crime resulted in three murder victims and six attempted murder victims.” This isn’t just a statistic. It’s a glaring, heartbreaking reality that hits us square in the face. We can’t ignore it anymore.

These women left their hometown, probably hoping for a brief respite from the violence that has gripped Chicago for far too long. But they found no such solace. Instead, they encountered the very same violence they were trying to escape from, showing us that the problem isn’t contained within city limits; it’s following us, seeping into every corner of this great nation.

The tragedy here isn’t just about these women or these men. It’s about a culture that breeds violence and leaves destruction in its wake. It’s about the broken homes, the failing schools, and the lack of opportunities that create a breeding ground for such violence.

We’ve become numb to the headlines. Another shooting. Another crime. But we can’t afford to be numb anymore. These were young women, who should have had their whole lives ahead of them. They were not numbers, they were people – people who deserved better from us.

The charges against these men are a step in the right direction. But it’s not enough. We need to dig deeper, to attack the root of the problem. We need to address the issues that breed this gang culture.

We can do better. We must do better. For the memory of Iyana, Nenah, and Destiny, and for all those whose lives have been tragically cut short by such violence.

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