Pubdate: Sat, 30 Dec 2006 Source: Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL) Copyright: 2006 Sun-Sentinel Company Contact: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/159 Author: Charles J. Magazine Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n1743/a04.html STOP IGNORING THREAT OF GANG VIOLENCE Re your Wednesday editorial, "Violence": The South Florida Sun-Sentinel has finally determined that there is gang violence in Palm Beach County. And, lo and behold, it's in Boynton Beach. Oh, wait, what about the rest of the county? There were 92 homicides this year in Palm Beach County, of which 14 were teens. In the past three years, West Palm Beach has seen at least 24 young African- American men being shot. What happened at the Boynton Beach Mall on Christmas Eve was a tragedy. But to say that gang violence is out of control in Boynton Beach is to show a narrow-sighted view of the problem. If gang violence is out of control, it is not just in Boynton Beach. What about the shootings throughout the rest of South Florida? Your editorial said that it was just plain luck no one else was hurt, not good police work. Are you serious? The Boynton Beach police officers on the scene specifically did not return fire due to the crowd of innocent people that could have been hurt. They rushed the shooter, putting themselves at risk. I not only say that what they did was good police work, but it was heroic. Perhaps, it is the view of the Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board that it's OK if gang violence occurs in the neighborhoods where these gang members live. However, when it spills out into public, such as at a major mall, then it becomes a national spectacle. Wake up and smell the gunpowder. Maybe you would think differently if you had been at the mall, cowering behind a trash can while the police officers put themselves between you and a gunman. Think about that. Charles J. Magazine, Boynton Beach - --- MAP posted-by: Derek