America's war: The killing of Jaiden Dixon and Tyler Dunn
On Saturday 23 November 2013, 10 children died after being shot. It was just another day in America. In an exclusive extract from his new book, Gary Younge chronicles two short lives
Saturday 24 September 2016 03.00 EDT
The most common adjective employed by weather reporters on Saturday 23 November 2013 was “treacherous”. But in reality there was not a hint of betrayal about it. The day was every bit as foul as one would expect the week before Thanksgiving. A Nordic outbreak of snow, rain and high winds barrelled through the desert states and northern plains towards the midwest.
There was precious little in the news to distract anyone from the weather. A poll gave Barack Obama his lowest approval ratings in years. The same day, he announced a tentative deal with Iran over its nuclear programme. That night, Fox News was the most popular cable news channel; The Hunger Games: Catching Fire was the highest-grossing movie.
It was just another day in America. And as befits an unremarkable Saturday, 10 children and teens were killed by gunfire. They died in altercations at gas stations, accidents in bedrooms, standing on stairwells and walking down the street, in gangland hits and by mistaken identity. Like the weather, none of them would make the national news because, like the weather, their deaths did not disturb the accepted order of things. Every day, on average, seven children and teens are killed by guns in America. Firearms are the leading cause of death among black children under 19, and the second greatest cause of death for all children of the same age, after car accidents.
I picked this day at random, and spent two years trying to find out who these children were. I searched for their parents, pastors, baseball coaches, and scoured their Facebook and Twitter feeds. The youngest child was nine, the oldest 19.
Eight lives, eight deaths: the other American boys who died on the same day
Kenneth Mills-Tucker 19, Indianapolis, 3.13am: drive-by shooting
Stanley Taylor 17, Charlotte, North Carolina, 4.17am: shot outside a convenience store
Pedro Cortez 18, San Jose, California, 4.22pm: suspected gang-related shooting
Edwin Rajo 16, Houston, Texas, 7.15pm: shot in error by a friend
Samuel Brightmon 16, Dallas, Texas, 11pm: shot walking with a friend
Gary Anderson 18, Newark, New Jersey, 1am: shot in a case of mistaken identity
Tyshon Anderson 18, Chicago, Illinois, 11.05pm, gang-related shooting
Gustin Hinnant 18, Goldsboro, North Carolina, 3.30am, shot by a stray bullet
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/24/americas-war-the-killing-jaiden-dixon-and-tyler-dunn
