Let's All Go To The Shooting...

The phone rang an hour after my shift ended. It was Times crime reporter Adam Causey informing me there had been an officer-involved shooting at Linwood Ave. and W. 77th Street in Shreveport. So I packed up the gear and headed out the door. The scene when I arrived was about what I expected, people everywhere, cops as far as the eye can see, enough media to choke Kacee Hargrave.

Now I admit when I was young I lived a pretty middle-class life. We rode our bikes all over town and really never worried about the dangers people think about today. But it never ceases to amaze me the number of people who allow their kids to go to crime scenes. Or worse yet... take them.

Now this parent was not the only one who came to check out the excitement on Linwood tonight. She is just the one I happened to photograph. But really... what are people thinking? Why would you bring a child to the scene of a violent crime? What possible benefit could they gain from it?

I have grown to appreciate and accept many different cultures since I started working as a journalist. Our work spans gaps in the city that most will never cross, but the culture of violence that seems to be expanding in many cities is one I will never understand.