Memphis massacre

It made national news. Six people killed on Lester street in Memphis, including two children, with three children still in the hospital under protective custody.

Local blogger Thaddeus Matthews is no stranger to sensationalism but he does apparently have some contacts. They've whispered some things leading him to believe it was indeed a gang hit over drugs. Specifically, a Mexican gang:

You people were warned time and time again, not to come into the latino areas and harass, rob or intimidate.I told you about the black boy robber who was found in the dumpster with his throat cut for robbing our people but you would not listen.Now you would have a group of people try to do these things en mass. This very same group must pay the price from the oldest to the youngest!Negro stay in the negro area to do crime. White people stay in the white area to do crime. Come into the latino areas to do crime and you face the machete! It will follow you back to your homes and your beds and your children. Your police can do nothing.

MS-13

That comment was on his blog. If indeed it was a gang hit they are becoming much more brutal and ruthless, which is evidenced by a graphic post-mortem picture Matthews posted to his blog that shows one of the victims with gunshots to her kneecap. So the killing certainly has the stamp of a message. While it's within the realm of possibility Matthews is correct about MS-13 it's just as likely a rival black gang could have been responsible based on the evidence at hand. Nevertheless his rhetoric could start a mini Los Angeles-style street war if things aren't corralled fast and strong.

That said, few have any confidence our feckless mayor will do anything. He's barely muttered a worthwhile sentence so far, suggesting a situation out of control. A new sheriff would be nice, or maybe Gary Cooper's ghost. Certainly a new rifle and some fresh ammo.

UPDATE 3/8/08

Police say the brother of one of the victims has confessed, which sort of pops a hole in Thaddeus Matthews' Mexican gang theory. Or any gang theory for that matter. That's good. Still, the way he allegedly killed and tortured those people doesn't make sense, unless a drug-induced rage was to blame or we don't know all the facts. Thankfully three of the children survived, but with horrid physical and mental scars for life. God bless them.