The media reacts quickly and with righteous indignation when a black person is shot by police, or by someone white, no matter what the facts of the case are.
But far too often, even in the most heinous of cases, when the perpetrator is black and the victim or victims happen to be white, the headlines and reporting are not anywhere near the same.
We have seen it in the case of 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant, who was executed by a black man in August, and we are seeing it again in the death of a 4-year-old white child in a targeted attack by a black man, WKBN reported.
The shooting occurred in Struthers, Ohio, on Monday at around 1:55 a.m., Four adults were also shot and are hospitalized: Andre Stephon McCoy, Jr., 20, Yarnell Green Jr., 30, Cassandra Marsicola, 20, and Alexis Schneider, 22, of Struthers.
The suspect, 24-year-old Kimonie Bryant, turned himself in to police after a massive manhunt began to find him.
The father of the deceased 4-year-old child spoke at a press conference prior to the suspect turning himself in.
Media Silent After White 5-Year-Old Shot Dead in Front of Family by Black Neighbor
“Rowan was the sweetest boy,” he said. “’Rowan was the best. He is so young. He didn’t deserve any of this… buddy, I’m so sorry for you, buddy. I love you.”
“Just be a man,” David Sweeney said as he held a photo of his son. “You took my son from me. He was my baby boy. You took him because you’re sick.”
“You took my son from me…you can live with that for the rest of your life,” he said before the name of the suspect was announced.
Authorities believe Bryant gained entry to the home via the front door and started shooting in the living room prior to fleeing on foot, Fox News reported.
One of the male victims was hit with two shots in the back of the head while another was struck two times in the back.
The women, who were described as friends, were hit in their legs and have been cooperating with the police in the investigation.
On the 9-1-1 phone call after the shooting, a woman is heard screaming, “My son is dead” as the person on the phone pleaded for help.
Neighbors reported hearing between five and eight gunshots but said that they did not get a good look at the suspect.
“This is Struthers, and this kind of stuff doesn’t usually happen. He was an innocent 4-year-old boy who deserves justice and deserves to be remembered,” neighbor Eric Rebic said.
What remains sad is how silent the mainstream media has largely been on the story. Imagine if the suspect was white and the four-year-old was black.
Imagine the media reporting on it, the protests, the riots and the looting, and the chants of “burn it down.”
But that did not happen for Hinnant and it is not happening for Sweeney. We often hear that black lives matter, and they do, but does the media believe anyone else’s life matters?
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