The tragic shooting death of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton brought hundreds of mourners to her funeral Saturday, including first lady Michelle Obama.
Pendleton has become the symbol and face of Chicago gun violence, according to news reports, since the King College Prep student was killed late last year when hanging out with friends in a South Side park.
But what about the others, some Chicagoans asked. Pendleton was the fifth teen shot and killed in Chicago this year. Gunshots killed 47 teenagers last year, contributing to more than 400 shooting deaths in Chicago. (more crime stats here).
Joe Walsh, former U.S. Representative of the 8th district, criticized the first lady via Twitter Friday for attending only Pendleton’s funeral despite the city’s high murder count.
Walsh’s tweet received some hostile replies for it’s brashness, but others have posted similar tweets since the January shooting and during Pendleton’s funeral, which aired live on local Fox 32 and was simulcasted on several news sites.
http://storify.com/ChiTownReview/criticism-flotus-attending-hadiya-pendleton-s-tele
Following Pendleton’s death, several petitions were sent to the White House requesting some response from the first family. The White House confirmed Friday that the first lady would attend the funeral. Meanwhile, the victim’s family received a personal, hand-written letter from President Barack Obama. While Michelle and other dignitaries were present at the funeral, none of them spoke at the podium, at the request of Pendleton’s family.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? Should the FLOTUS have attended Hadiya Pendleton’s funeral? Should the funeral have been televised? SOUND OFF in the comments and in the forums!
