Damn guns and the people who are so enamored of them. Damn them all to hell.
On Sunday, a young man enthusiastic about politics spoke to a Democratic candidate about volunteering for his campaign. And then he was gunned down, right in front of Pennsylvania House candidate Chris Rabb. Just that fast.
Police are investigating two deadly related shootings in Philadelphia Sunday, one of which was witnessed by a Pennsylvania House candidate who spoke with the victim only moments before he was killed.
Chris Rabb, a Democratic candidate running for state representative of Pennsylvania’s 200th legislative district, was canvassing on the 1400 block of Vernon Road in Philadelphia around 3:30 p.m. Rabb's campaign manager told NBC10 the candidate introduced himself to a 21-year-old man who was in the area and they had a conversation.
The man told Rabb he wanted to work the polls during Pennsylvania's primary Tuesday and was interested in his platform, according to the campaign manager. A volunteer with Rabb then took down the man's number. As Rabb and his volunteer walked away a gunman suddenly walked up to the 21-year-old and shot him twice in the head at point-blank range, according to police. Rabb managed to pull his volunteer to safety into a nearby store. The 21-year-old victim was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:43 p.m.
Chris Rabb released a statement later Sunday evening:
As a father raising two young men, I am heartbroken. Yet, no matter how traumatic today's events were for me, it pales in comparison to the devastation these young men's families are now enduring.
My thoughts right now are with the families of the young men whose lives have been tragically cut short today.
One of these young men stood before me just hours ago. He was enthusiastic about the political process. My campaign team and I were engaging him about the upcoming elections. We made a connection with him. He was looking forward to working at his local polling place on Tuesday. This impressed us and we were in the process of encouraging him to join our campaign. Moments after he gave us his contact information he was murdered. He had his whole life in front of him.
My condolences go out to the families of the young people caught up in this violence.
There was another shooting later in the day in which another young man died similarly. The police are saying the two cases are connected. But this violence happens every damn day. This is but one instance.
In Ohio, 8 people died. In Georgia, 6 were killed in a mass shooting. And that was just last Friday. Over the weekend, 27 were injured and 5 killed in mass shootings.
This senseless murder and the companion murder later in the day doesn't even qualify as a mass shooting. Let that one sink in.
Full report below, via NBC Philadelphia:
