Yes, it was like Wednesday, just a few days after Christmas … and this family was moving from one home in Ft. Lauderdale to another … you know, Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The parents had left fourteen year old Dario at home with his step-sister Molly, who was ten years old. The neighbors say that the dred-lock wearing Dario seemed like a normal teenager. So, why did he shoot his step-sister, Molly, in the leg? There were no reports of fighting or yelling, and, when Molly was rushed off to the hospital after the shooting, they said she didn’t say anything.
Problem for Dario is that he first told police that he had found the 22 caliber pistol in his family home back yard. But, after intensive interrogation and investigation by the police, Dario stated that he had possessed the pistol for months! Now for me, I am not sure of how households may be conducted today but I can not imagine having wanted a pistol at fourteen, nor my parents not knowing I had one. My mother used to enter my room on a regular basis putting socks and t-shirts and underwear in my chest of drawers, she was always in the closet that my brother Hank and I shared, and it was the same treatment for my two sisters – Edna and Barbara – who shared their own bedroom like Hank and I until Edna went away to college. On her way back from the hospital, family and friends welcomed Molly home. As she sported the crutches, she still said nothing … Her uncle said, “Molly is tough!”
Dario has not been charged with the shooting but he is being held in the juvenile detention center in Ft. Lauderdale for 21 days because he lied to authorities about how long he had had the pistol and the authorities are still not sure where he got it from! What is a parent to do nowadays? I would like to see some counseling in a not-so-intrusive environment held at like an Urban League location or even a local church or two. Kids, especially teenagers, should be encouraged to come and participate in a “Q & E” session afterwards! I am available to conduct such a workshop! Contact me or pass my name on, please! Yours truly, John I. Cook. Let’s Stop the Violence!
Educational Excellence 