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www.newpittsburghcourier.com Vol. 113 No. 49 Two Sections
DECEMBER 7-13, 2022
IS NOTHING SACRED ANYMORE? Community outraged over brazen killings ‘Who would shoot a 4-year-old?’ asks aunt of Kaari Thompson by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
In talking about the gun violence in Pittsburgh, there are some who counter with, “At least it’s not Chicago,” or, “At least it’s not Philadelphia,” where homicide totals greatly outnumber those in Pittsburgh. But try telling that to the families and friends of the 69 people who have been killed inside Pittsburgh city limits this year, or the families of the additional 45 or so homicide victims in Allegheny County. Tell that to the thousands and thousands of families whose lives have been forever altered, forever changed, forever marred by senseless gun violence in our region over the years. The countless vigils, the balloon releases, the calls for the violence to end; so what if this isn’t Chicago, or Philly, or Detroit. Gun violence is gun violence, no matter the city, and every public official, every family member ever affected by it in Pittsburgh is calling, pleading, screaming from the top of their lungs for it to stop. The latest death, reported by KDKA-TV on Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 6—the passing away
of Temani Lewis, the mother of 4-year-old Kaari Thompson. On Thursday, Dec. 1, Lewis and Thompson were both shot as a hail of bullets rang out at the corner of Lincoln and Lemington avenues around 6:40 p.m. Thompson, the 4-year-old, died that night. Lewis, fought for her life until her family announced she had passed a few days later. As of Tuesday evening, Dec. 6, no one has been arrested in their murders. On Sunday, Dec. 4, a balloon release vigil was held for Thompson, at the same corner where she was shot. With a heavy police presence, about 100 people came out to honor the little girl’s life. “She was like my second daughter,” said her aunt, Heather Thompson. “She was born a year before I had my daughter, and ever since she was born it was like, I loved her to death. I would steal her from her mom all the time.” Heather Thompson continued: “She was the sweetest little girl, she always came up to you, she tells you she misses you, she loves you...her and my daughSEE THOMPSON A4
4-YEAR-OLD KAARI THOMPSON was killed in a shooting near Lincoln and Lemington avenues, Dec. 1. Her mother, Temani Lewis, was also shot, and died a few days later.
Mayor Gainey challenges Black parents in Pittsburgh: ‘Our kids need you’ by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
Pittsburgh’s mayor, Ed Gainey, has had enough with the gun violence. He shed the dress shirt, tie and sportcoat for a hoodie, jacket, jeans and Steeler hat and spoke candidly to the crowd assembled for Kaari Thompson’s vigil. Thompson, 4, was shot and killed at the corner of Lincoln and Lemington avenues on Dec. 1. Her mother, Temani Lewis, died days later. Since Gainey became mayor, there have been 69 homicides in the city. Some have made national headlines, like the shooting outside a North Side gas station that claimed the lives of three, including two mothers who were innocent bystanders. Mayor Gainey didn’t
come from Squirrel Hill, or Shadyside, or the suburbs. He grew up in East Liberty, graduated from Peabody High School, served as a state representative for Homewood, Lincoln-Lemington, East Liberty, Larimer and other majority-Black areas, and now is the first Black mayor of Pittsburgh. He said he doesn’t have to sugarcoat anything, because, unlike other Pittsburgh mayors, “I’m from the other side of the tracks, so I can have this conversation. You can like it or love it, because it’s the truth.” Mayor Gainey is angry at what some parents are showing their children, as far as how to act in society. “We’re on Facebook, beefing with one another, talking noise on one anothSEE GAINEY A9
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MAYOR ED GAINEY, AT THE VIGIL FOR KAARI THOMPSON, DEC. 4. (PHOTO BY J.L. MARTELLO)