Last Friday, an Evanston teen shot another teen at the McDonald’s near the intersection of Dodge and Dempster avenues. Seventeen-year-old Anthony Conorquie allegedly shot 16-year-old Tyree Green in the stomach. Green was taken to the hospital for his injuries, and the incident prompted a vigil two days later to protest youth violence in the city.

In heartbreaking irony, a rally to protest violence had already taken place less than a week before the shooting. Moms Saving Our Sons organized a march down Dodge Avenue – right past that very McDonald’s where the shooting took place – and held a rally at ETHS, a block away from the fast-food restaurant.

What is even more surprising is the apathetic reaction amongst the local youth about the shooting. One of our city reporters, Patrick Svitek, walked around the neighborhood before the Sunday vigil and talked to a few kids about what happened, and one described the shooting as “kind of usual crime.”

That same apathy among younger Evanston residents was also evident in last week’s peace rally. Organizers and speakers pointed out how few young adults aged 18 to 24 were in the audience at the rally, when, in fact, that age group is the very demographic the event was trying to target.

Of course, it seems rather idealistic to simply preach about ending violence. Rallies and vigils can bring the issue to the community’s attention, but given the sequence of events last week, some things resonate but nothing definitive actually changes. Evanston isn’t unique in its struggle against youth violence, and it seems as though we’re just throwing the issue to the list that continues to plague the city – along with budget deficits, homelessness and pension debt.

What is so haunting about these crimes was that the ends never come close to justifying the means. When we published the peace rally story, we compiled an infographic about the six men commemorated at the event, all of whom were young African-American men whose lives were lost to brutal crimes. Looking down the list, the overwhelming question was, “Why?”

I was a cops reporter for the city desk last fall, and one of the blotters that stood out most to me was one about David Branch. The incident happened a few days before Christmas, when Branch visited his friend Michael Anderson. The two were talking and drinking, and police said the two ended up fighting about alcohol. Anderson stabbed Branch in the leg four times, struck his femoral artery, and Branch died from blood loss.

The case was a prime example of senseless violence. A death didn’t have to be the solution to an argument – but that is what ended up happening last December. It wasn’t the first time, too. Most of the other men commemorated at the peace rally died because the suspect resorted to violence to settle an argument or a fight. And if police speculation is true that Friday’s McDonald’s shooting was due to an argument between Conorquie and Green, then that is another to add to the list.

But the list doesn’t have to keep growing. Community leaders and city officials need to take definitive steps to reach out to this demographic and show them disagreements don’t have to end with someone’s funeral.

One ETHS staff member interviewed in an update to the shooting article told The Daily that the shooting didn’t surprise him. “I work at the high school, so I’m quite familiar with the propensity to violence these kids display,” Evanston resident Lloyd Cassis said.

And maybe that’s where we need to start. Maybe it means starting early at elementary schools in these neighborhoods and having more high school and college students as mentors. Maybe it means launching anti-violence campaigns at high schools. Maybe it is as simple as showing them they can have a bright future if they learn not to succumb to the culture of violence.

While Friday’s shooting thankfully didn’t end the way Branch’s story did – hospital representatives told The Daily on Monday that Green had been released – it doesn’t make the incident any less of a tragedy. It should be a reminder that this year doesn’t have to end with six more homicides. It should be a loud and resounding call to police, city officials, community leaders and parents that there is a group of Evanston residents that need our help. They need it now.

Kris Anne Bonifacio is a Medill sophomore and City Editor for The Daily. She can be reached at [email protected].