WASHINGTON (AP) Several people whose lives have been shattered by gun violence will be watching from the packed House gallery as President Barack Obama gives his State of the Union speech.
But not Bill Sherlach, whose wife, Mary, was killed in the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14.
Washington officials fighting over gun control invited him to attend Obama’s speech Tuesday night in the House chamber. Sherlach declined.
He said that rather than be the nationally televised face of tragedy, he prefers working within a group that wants the gun issue addressed as part of a comprehensive effort to reduce violence. He wants to work with Sandy Hook Promise, a group that deals with more than just gun control. Mary Sherlach was the Sandy Hook Elementary School psychologist.
Eight years after the murder of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton at a Chicago park, her family says they have finally received their last piece of justice, as the man who drove the getaway car from the scene was sentenced to 42 years in prison Tuesday. NBC 5’s Christian Farr has more. Chicago Jan 15, 2019
Teen performer at inaugural events fatally shot
By DON BABWINJanuary 31, 2013 GMT
CHICAGO (AP) A 15-year-old girl who had performed in President Barack Obama’s inauguration festivities is the latest face on the ever-increasing homicide toll in the president’s hometown, killed in a Chicago park as she talked with friends by a gunman who apparently was not even aiming at her.
Chicago police said Hadiya Pendleton was in a park about a mile from Obama’s home in a South Side neighborhood Tuesday afternoon when a man opened fire on the group. Hadiya was shot in the back as she tried to escape.
Hadiya Pendleton murder: Getaway driver sentenced to 42 years in prison suntimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from suntimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Amid racial reckoning, parents and educators question why Chicago schools are automatically enrolling Black and Latino students in military-run courses.