Adams weeps over the shooting of teenager suspected of attempted murder: "We should have done more"

On Thursday, New York Mayor Eric Adams tearfully said as describing a teenage boy being shot dead in Brooklyn: "We should have done more." ”

According to Pix11, 18-year-old rapper Jayquan McKenley died of several fatal gunshots in the chest on Sunday. McKinley has a criminal history, including arrest for attempted murder. But even so, Adams said, his death hit him hard, because the more he learned about McKinley, the more he could see the failure of the system.

McKinley grew up in the South Bronx, where poverty and unemployment rates are high and graduation rates are low. When he was five years old, his family lived in a homeless shelter. Over the next four years, the McKinley family lived in 7 different shelters, living precariously and insecurely.

When he started school, he participated in a program for children with severe cognitive impairments. Two years later, when he was included in the mainstream project, he fell behind. Adams said he was already in danger and had never received any help despite his mother's request for help. McKinley attended five different high school and program programs, and he was absent for hundreds of days. McKinley was arrested at the age of 18 for attempted murder. His last school lesson before his death was at Lake Island Prison.

Adams said McKinley was not only a victim, but also an perpetrator. But he was still young, and he still had time to change and get rid of the violence. Our system and the judicial system should do more. That means changing the way we educate our children, building housing, creating jobs, fighting inequality and racism; it means taking a hard look at the way things are done and undertaking tougher institutional reforms.

Adams said he didn't want to think of McKinley's death as a statistic or another tragic story. There are now thousands of people like McKinley in New York. He called on New Yorkers to stand up and fulfill their ethical and social responsibilities to help teenagers like McKinley. He also called on New York City agencies to find ways to improve the lives of these children.

Compile: LH