Save the Children
by Fred Pirello
redducatist2@hotmail.com

December 22, 2002

Keepandbeararms.com -- On December 16th, 2002, a 16-year-old high school sophomore named Christopher Green was killed by a handgun. Christopher died in surgery after being rushed to the hospital with three gunshot wounds. It happened in Pinellas Park, Florida, but it could have happened anywhere.

This young man, I’m sure, was looking forward to the holiday break from school and was anticipating Christmas with his family. His life was brutally cut short by a handgun - a weapon designed for the sole purpose of taking human life. Christopher will become one of the statistics cited by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Violence Policy Center (VPC). These organizations are exquisitely sensitive to the issue of children killed by gun violence.

There is only one twist to this little tale. Christopher had just robbed a gas station and was caught in the act of raping the lone attendant. When he pointed his revolver at a police officer, the officer fired four shots in self defense. Christopher is history, and the statistics will yield only a perverse shadow of what truly happened.

The story as told by the Associated Press