14-year-old boy turns self in for shooting death of 17-year-old sister

[BlueCheese]

There are stories that warm your heart, and stories that make you despair. I'm not sure I've ever heard one that simultaneously has so many terrible aspects to it.

SFGate article

A 14-year-old boy who is accused of shooting and killing his 17-year-old sister in Oakland's Chinatown surrendered Wednesday to police, authorities said.

...

Mario is accused of fatally shooting Justice Toliver in the family's fifth-floor apartment at 801 Franklin St., just blocks from police headquarters, about 12:15 p.m. last Thursday. Justice died at the scene.

Family members said Mario shot his sister and that the two, who were very close, had been arguing - including over his belief that she had bleached his clothes. Justice had a 3-year-old daughter and worked at a McDonald's; family members said Mario is the father of an infant.

How many things can be wrong in three paragraphs? (1) A 14-year-old kid had easy access to a gun, (2) he shot his sister in an argument about laundry, (3) at age 14, he is the father of an infant, (4) at age 17, his sister was the mother of a three-year-old, meaning she too had a child at 14, and (5) the shooting occurred around noon on a Thursday, when they were both probably supposed to be at school.

How do things like this happen? What's going to happen to the children (the infant and the 3-year-old, not the unfortunate victim and the accused)?

Sigh-- so depressing. I used to frequent that neighborhood; I knew it wasn't the best place in the world, but didn't suspect stuff like this might happen there.

[ZombieHorde]

1. I agree. So many fucked up things.

So sad.

[linuxman]

2. Wow.

Talk about one colossally fucked up situation. I'd ask where their parents were, but I'd guess at their 10 year high school reunion, by the way this story sounds.

I feel like nobody in this story had a chance at all.

[ReRe]

3. The children will be ok...

... as long as they are adopted by someone NOT related to that family. Sounds like a neglected-children-having-neglected-children situation. Yes, this is so sad...

[glowing]

4. This right here is a perfect example of why we need

sound sex education classes, access to birth control, before and after school programs for teens as well as programs to help young women and men out if they do become young parents (education helps dig their way out of poverty - in a decent efonomy), and for better access to abortion services/ along with a paid for service/ along with women standing up and saying it's ok and you aren't a baby killer (the morality police are screwing this country!)