Security guard "accidently" murdered!

In the Oakland Tribune today, an Oakland resident wrote a letter to the editor that encompasses my feelings about Oakland and its horrific murder rate.
It's a beautifully written letter, here goes.


"IN ORDER to become a model city, indeed, even in order to become a safer city, Oaklanders must see to it that doers take responsibility for their actions.
Because of its influence on the region, the Tribune needs to do a better job of not appearing to excuse or countenance the unacceptable violence that ultimately victimizes us all.

In the Jan. 26 article "Freak accident took guard's life," the "freak accident" of the headline was but one recent failure in affixing responsibility. Before that day, readers had no idea that the "nearby shooting" alluded to in earlier reports actually involved the near murder of two young women.

In fact, Demetrio Baltazar was the innocent victim of a murder committed by a wantonly reckless criminal trying to kill two or three other people.

There was nothing freakish about this murder; it is part of a historic pattern.

The intended assaults are either random (any victim will do) or for revenge (any perceived slight will do); the other shooting injuries and murders are by stray bullets not necessarily intended for the innocent victim, but just as devastating upon impact as if deserved. Many crimes have both intended and innocent victims.

The Tribune should take the lead in publicizing the fact and consequences of criminal conduct in our community.

Sweeping the dirt under the rug merely gives the unsuspecting or forgetful something to trip over. We need to clean house by unflinchingly exposing and then removing the dirt."

Patrick K. McCullough

Oakland