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December 30, 2023
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Aruba’s ONLY English newspaper
Perspective: Children born poor have little margin for mistakes or bad
decisions, regardless of race
By GARY FIELDS
Associated Press
ALEXANDRIA, La. (AP) — Al-
fred King was lying in the park-
ing lot of a small apartment
building, mortally wounded
when police in Alexandria,
Louisiana, got to the intersec-
tion of 12th and Magnolia
streets shortly before 1:30
a.m., Jan. 20.
The 34-year-old was the first
fatal shooting of 2023 in the
small city where I grew up
and a large portion of my
family lives. Alfred’s death
was similar to some I have
covered since my first in 1985,
a 38-year period when hun-
dreds of thousands of people
of all races and ethnicities
have died violently in the U.S.
I know the details of too
many of those incidents,
from school shootings to a
drug hit in a phone booth.
I’ve heard the scream of a
mom coming home from
work and seeing her son in
the street, encircled by yellow
police tape. I’ve watched
more than one mother gently
touch the face of her teen-
age son then close the lid
on the casket. Associated Press reporter Gary Fields poses for a portrait at a public park, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023, in Washington.
Associated Press
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