A 7-year-old boy was gunned down in Jacksonville, Florida, on Sunday evening and it marks the fifth time in two weeks that a child has been shot and killed in the city.
According to ABC News, Tashawn Gallon was murdered while playing in the front yard of his home when an SUV pulled up and fired on his family that was outside as well.
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One witness said that he retrieved a gun and fired back. Law enforcement believe that Gallon was caught between the two parties firing their weapons.
“These shootings need to stop,” said Assistant Chief Scott Dingee of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. “All murders and all shootings are unacceptable. When you have children that can’t play in their front yard that’s unbelievable to me.”
“I know for a fact that the people in the communities are outraged as well as we are,” he added. “They should be.”
Previous young victims of Jacksonville gun violence include a 17-year-old on Feb. 15 and an 11-year-old and 14-year-old on Feb. 8.
The new death comes on the heels of the widely reported school shooting that took place in Parkland, Florida on Valentine’s Day.
In an emotional video posted online, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School principal Ty Thompson said, “My heart is breaking for the victims’ families and our entire Stoneman Douglas community.”
“Eagles, I promise you, I will hug each and every one of you as many times as you need and I will hold you as long as you need me to — for all 3,300 of you and your families — and we will get through this together,” he continued.
“We lost 17 lives on Valentine’s Day. That’s supposed to be the international Day of Love,” Thompson added. “We’re going to take the love that we got lost on Wednesday and we’re going to spread that over the next days, weeks, months and maybe even years.”
Confessed shooter Nikolas Cruz, 19, was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder in the fatal shooting at his former high school.
In the wake of a tragic school shooting, the Governor of the state has called for a review of mental health reforms.
“Next week in Tallahassee, I’m going sit down with state leaders, we’re going have a real conversation about two things: How do we make sure when a parent is ready to send their child to school, in Florida, that parent knows that child is going to be safe?” Florida Governor Rick Scott said during a news conference.
“Number two: How do we make sure that this individual with mental illness does not touch a gun? We need to have a real conversation so we have public safety for our schools in this state,” Scott continued.
“They’re committed to provide the resources and have a real conversation about how do we make sure we have public safety. I want to make sure that my children, my grandchildren, yours, everybody in this state, can wake up and be safe. I’m going to stay here and do everything I can,” Scott later added.
