Dream On

There is an older housing area across the street from the airport, technically in Cat City, not PS. The homes were built to offer affordable housing to people who could not afford it, and the area began with families celebrating owning their little piece of the American Dream. Hence, the area became known as Dream Homes.

In the past decades, the area has been a notorious gang neighborhood, with older residents barracading themselves behind locked doors, afraid to come out, especially at night. A commitment by local police to rid the area of the gangs has been marginally successful, enough that the residents began renovating homes, upgrading landscaping, and creating a true neighborhood community of families and friends. Within the past 5 years or so, however, the gang-related crimes have become more commonplace, including shootings.

Because the CV is a straight shot from the Mexican border, it attracts illegal aliens and criminals fleeing Mexico. The Mexican cartels are on a killing spree, so more and more of the illegal immigrants bring with them guns and a "kill or be killed" mentality. The shootings are not localized, as they once were, and within the past month the number of fatalities in the Valley is shocking. People are being gunned down on the streets and law enforcement believes that the majority of the killings are gang-related.

Night before last, at 6:30 pm, a family gathered in the Dream Homes neighborhood while a 16-year-old mother and her 17-year-old boyfriend showed off their new baby to friends. A passing motorist, who knew the people standing outside their home, pulled to the curb to join the gathering, sharing the joy of the new baby. Another car drove by slowly; the passenger rolled down the window, shouted at the group "Where you from?" and opened fire.

The young mother died instantly, still holding her baby. The man who stopped to admire the baby died from his wounds. The baby's father was shot multiple times, but it appears that he's going to survive. The shocking totals: 2 dead and 4 wounded, with others fleeing for their lives. One of the wounded was the months' old baby, who was shot in the leg.

The police have concluded that because the young father is an acknowledged gang member, this probably is a gang-related shooting of people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Evidently, the individuals in the car were out cruising the neighborhood, looking for an easy target. Anyone in the Valley who wants to know where to find gang activity knows where it is. Even with a fairly clear description of the vehicle, neither it nor the two shooters inside have been found.

It is not politically correct to racially profile criminals, but when the criminals are from Mexico, identify themselves with tattoos as belonging to Mexican gangs and cartels, cross the border illegally, and shoot citizens walking down a street or standing in front of their homes showing off a new baby, it's time to be a whole lot less politically correct. Both California and Arizona law enforcement must target these gang-bangers and take them off the streets. Unfortunately, woe be unto a police officer who shoots and kills one of them because the Mexican gang members who are killing people on our streets are protected to the fullest extent of the law, while the law enforcement personnel must justify the shooting.

President Obama refuses to address the direct link between the Mexican criminals and the dramatic increase in crime along the border states, much less authorize effective means to combat the problem. Ironically, the President believes that Mexicans are being racially profiled and targeted unfairly because they cross the border illegally, not because they are criminals. When Arizona got tough in an effort to stop the overt criminal activity along its border, the President ordered Arizona to back off, rather than stand up himself to Mexico's protest.

Sometimes, it's easier to be wrong than it is to stand up for what's right. The border states must work together to stop the hemmoraghing of criminals from Mexico into America, even when it means taking on the Presidents of Mexico and the United States to do it. People who have nothing to worry about should support law enforcement agencies targeting criminals; criminals should not walk the streets with impunity, but always be looking behind them to see who's coming to take them off the streets.

The killing spree is not going to stop on its own. How many more shootings will it take before law enforcement is fully empowered to deal with the issue that is, not with what the politicians wish it to be?