Add the sad story of Bobby Tillman (pictured above in portrait) to the list of tales that will leave you shaking your head and wondering what has gone wrong with our youth.
Tillman, 18, was simply walking to a house party in Douglasville, Ga., an Atlanta suburb.
He didn't know that four men at the party had gotten in to a fight with another group outside the gathering, and that one of the troublemakers said that the next man who came along would feel his wrath.
That next man was Tillman.
The group punched and stomped Tillman in an unprovoked attack until he was dead.
"Every time I close my eyes I can see it. They were violent kicks - it was the worst thing I've ever seen," said one witness.
The four suspects are identified as Quantez Devonta Mallory, 18 (above, left); Horace Damon Coleman, 19 (above, right); Emanuel Benjamin Boykins, 18 (below, left); and Tracen Lamar Franklin, 19 (below, right).
There are no heroes in this mess -- just a host of animals who have no respect for life and pathetic observers who refused to help Tillman.
We all know how the drill will go. There will be memorials for Tillman that will get regional and perhaps even national attention. And the bereaved family will make the heart-wrenching call to stop violence among young people.
Then an Atlanta councilman, state senator or other politico will jump on the bandwagon and start an anti-youth violence campaign that may or may not slightly reduce the incidents of attacks -- for a little while.
Meanwhile, Bobby Tillman will be lying in his grave, his relatives living with emptiness in their hearts and nothing will really change.
04-Nov-10 - Aimee Michael caused a massive car accident in Atlanta, a chain reaction that caused the deaths of five people, including a newborn baby, a 6-year-old and a 9-year-old. She now faces 36 years in prison.
04-Nov-10 - Aimee Michael caused a massive car accident in Atlanta, a chain reaction that caused the deaths of five people, including a newborn baby, a 6-year-old and a 9-year-old. She now faces 36 years in prison.
27-Oct-10 - Christopher White, Abdul Rasuul, and Leroy Johnson allege that they were told they had to buy food when they asked to use the restroom at a Third Avenue McDonald's.
25-Oct-10 - While T.I. reported to jail on November 1, he doesn't have to face additional charges and possible jail time from the arrest in California.
