\u00a0Her last word on Twitter before death \u201cI\u2019m Tired\u2019<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b><\/p>\n
BY SAMUEL SHOAGA\/MANAGING EDITOR,<\/i> NEW YORK & SHERLEY ABRAHAMS\/CRIME REPORTER<\/i>, CHICAGO<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
IT is an open secret that crime rate in the United States is so high, particularly as related to gun violence, where mostly \u2018insane people\u2019 with access to gun could just pull the trigger and snuff life out of innocent people. A recent and very painful case is the untimely death of Hadiya Pendleton, an intelligent 15-year-old girl who performed at President Obama’s second inauguration. She was shot dead same day while hanging out with friends after school with an alleged silent pistol by an unknown \u2018killer\u2019 in Chicago.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Pendleton\u2019s death has brought an abrupt end to her academics and endowment as a creative and gifted musician. Though described by family as a \u2018walking angel\u2019 because of her happy nature, her murder under a canopy in\u00a0Vivian Gordon Harsh Park when a gunman ran down an alley, opened fire and fled in a white car has obviously confirmed the increasing danger to gun access by many Americans.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Police Position<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Police officer Laura Kubiak, Naija Standard<\/i><\/b> observed claimed that Pendleton was shot in the back but managed to run about a block before she collapsed, said. She died at the hospital. Also, a-16-year-old boy was wounded in the 2:20 p.m. incidence. Police said Pendleton, who had no criminal record, was probably not the intended target.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Deceased Mother in Tears<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Cleo Cowley, the deceased mother laments in tears: \u201cNever in a million years did I think I would get a call that my own baby had been gunned down.\u201d \u00a0She claimed she was at work that black Tuesday afternoon when she got an unexpected call from one of her daughter\u2019s friends. Her words: \u201cShe was screaming on the phone that Hadiya\u2019s been shot, she\u2019s been shot, and I just didn\u2019t understand. I and my other relatives believe my daughter brought us honor as a student, an insatiable reader who still found time to play volleyball and a twirl a baton in the school marching band.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Deceased Father goes Philosophical<\/b><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Damon Stewart, 36 years old father reportedly and police officer said \u201cAs usual, the bad guy aims, but he never hits the other bad guy . . . He hits the one that hurts the most to lose. I changed her diapers; I played with her growing up. My heart is broken.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A sophomore at selective King College Prep High School, Pendleton had traveled to Washington to perform with the band at inaugural events.<\/p>\n
US Senate React<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n
Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill, so touched by the incidence said at a Senate hearing on gun violence \u201cIt was the highlight of her young 15-year-old life. Just a matter of days after the happiest day of her life, she\u2019s gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
White House: \u2018A terrible tragedy\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Naija Standard<\/i><\/b> White House spokesman Jay Carney called the shooting a \u201cterrible tragedy\u201d and said the Obamas were praying for Pendleton\u2019s family.<\/p>\n
The deceased cousin Shatira Wilks said the inauguration trip was the talk of a family gathering around New Year\u2019s, but the young majorette was even more excited about something else: plans to travel to Europe this spring with the band.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Premonition of her Death<\/b><\/p>\n
As if Pendleton had a premonition of her demise, she last tweeted just before 1 a.m. on the sad day she died \u201cI\u2019m tired\u201d. Many of her classmates changed their Twitter handles to honor her and decried the violence that had claimed an innocent life.<\/p>\n
Friends, Classmates eulogize her<\/b><\/p>\n
Many of her friends, Naija Standard<\/i><\/b> gathered described her as a bubbly, well-liked student.<\/p>\n
For Tyler Genovesi, 14, she said \u201cShe was always smiling and laughing. She was just a really nice person. There are a lot of people crying in school. It\u2019s very sad. The school band is playing for her.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Chicago: A gun violence zone<\/b><\/p>\n
Pendleton’s murder, going by Naija Standard<\/i><\/b> investigation was one of three shooting deaths in the city that day. More than 40 people have been shot dead in Chicago since the beginning of the year. There were 506 homicides in the city last year, a 16 percent increase even as other large cities, like New York, saw murders drop.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Obviously, this is death too many. Our Editorial Board members wish the Obama administration to keenly look into the issue of arms possession which has led to high gun violence in the United States.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LATEST ON GUN VIOLENCE IN AMERICA: Girl 15, Shot & Murdered in Chicago\u2026After performing at Barack Obama 2nd Inauguration ceremony \u00a0*\u00a0Family, friends, school mates mourn * Assassin escaped in a white car–Police * How she was shot in the back * My heart is broken-Victim\u2019s Father * \u2018I\u2019m in Pains-Deceased Mum\u00a0 * US Senate views […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":273,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[106],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Hadiya](\"http:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Hadiya-4.jpg\")
<\/a>My heart is broken-Victim\u2019s Father * \u2018I\u2019m in Pains-Deceased Mum\u00a0 * US Senate views report on deceased post mortem<\/b><\/p>\n