The crime rate is climbing and many are feeling the impact. Certainly, victims bear the brunt of the sting, but at times empathetic newscasters feel overwhelmed by having to report on the seemingly unceasing stream of sad and tragic events.
Such was the case late Wednesday when NBC Action News 5 reporter Joyce Peterson reported on the latest shooting spree in Memphis, Tennessee.
Peterson was live streaming a report on Facebook, discussing how 19-year-old Ezekiel Kelly went on an hours-long random shooting spree — killing four people and injuring three more — when she broke down.
Pausing her report momentarily while she composed herself, Peterson apologized and said:
“Memphis is tired right now. Yeah, I’m good, I’m with you all. Memphis is tired right now. The Eliza Fletcher kidnapping and abduction and murder. The other crimes we’ve had this year leading up to this, it’s difficult right now. Bear with me, it’s a very nerve-racking night.”
Memphis Police Department arrested Kelly after a 9-hour chase.
Fox 13 reported that Kelly allegedly recorded his attacks on Facebook Live. One of the first fatalities took place at a BP gas station at 4:30 p.m. The last shooting took place at about 1 a.m.
Peterson’s emotional report follows Mika Brzezinski’s breakdown while reporting on a Texas shooting.
Peterson mentioned that she was overwhelmed by the many recent tragic events in her region, including the kidnapping and death of Eliza Fletcher, a 39-year-old mother who was assaulted while out jogging.
Authorities announced that Cleotha Abston, 38, has been charged with first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping in connection with Fletcher’s death.
The Daily Caller reports that the “crime rate in Memphis stands at 7,912 per 100,000 people, which is 237.3% higher than the national average.”
According to FBI data, the violent crime rate in Memphis is more than 500% higher than the U.S. average.
Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) released a press release on the rise in crime in America. In his statement, he puts the blame for the spike in crime squarely on the shoulders of Democrats who advance defund-the-police and soft-on-crime policies. His statement reads:
“Defund the police” was more than just a catchphrase for the radical left. Democratic cities across the country reduced funding for their police forces over the past two years. Minneapolis, which saw some of the year’s most violent riots, cut its police budget by $8 million. Los Angeles slashed police funding by $150 million, and New York City shrank the NYPD’s budget by $1 billion.
As a result, 14 major Democrat-run cities saw their highest homicide levels on record in 2021. The upward trend has not stopped. Fox News recently analyzed data from seven major cities and found that this year, violent crimes have increased up to 40% over 2021.
The increase has been particularly pronounced in New York City and Seattle, two cities that were on the leading edge of the “defund the police” movement. Though, it’s not just homicide rates that are up. Carjackings have become commonplace in many cities, and major increases in organized retail theft have left business owners struggling, frustrated, and feeling abandoned by local leaders.
Democrats are blaming everyone except their own policies for the drastic increase in violent crimes. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot blamed retailers for the smash-and-grabs, admonishing them for failing to lock down merchandise.
Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki claimed that the pandemic was the source of the crime surge, while Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) flatly denied that retail crime was increasing.
And Rep. Cori Bush (D-MS), one of the first Democrats to call for defunding the police, responded to rising crime by spending over $300,000 in campaign funds for her own private security force. Regular people, though, know that Democratic policies are the source of the crime spike, and by wide margins, the public trusts Republicans to restore law and order.
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