According to the police, the deadliest hours in Oakland are between 8 at night and 4 in the morning, and the most vulnerable place to be is on the street. That is especially true if you are a young black man. The Oakland Police Department reports that about 8 out of 10 of the homicide victims last year were African American males, and 112 of last year’s 125 homicides were gun-related. It’s a paradox: young men carry guns around for protection, yet those very guns are what keep the killing rate so high. For our fourth installment of the Oakland Fault Lines Project, reporter Sarah Gonzalez went out to deep East Oakland to learn more about guns in the community. She wanted to start with the beginning of a guns life on the streets: buying one.
(Photo taken by reporter Sarah Gonzalez)
1 comment:
Thank you for this series.
This is probably the best, most probing, and all-around real few minutes of reporting that I have heard in many years of listening to public radio.
Thanks for your patient, thorough, and profound efforts to understand and work against the violence that plagues our city.
Your quiet, sympathetic voices provide clear (if not soothing) messages in a sea of static. We are fortunate to have you.
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