Schoolboy 'murdered for gang snub'

AdelaideNow... Schoolboy 'murdered for gang snub': "“I am told Jessie showed incredible strength when challenged by these gangs who took his life because they could not stand a 15-year-old boy's rejection.”"

I thought Manchester had been working on a programme to reduce crime. Maybe it has reduced its crime rate but this mother will never be convinced of that. She has a strong voice even in this piece which has been written on her behalf. She speaks clearly and probably says a lot of the things more parents would want to say. Perhaps they will now have the courage to speak out. England isn't the only place for gangs. Gangs seem to have come back into vogue and the consequences of being a gang member seem to be very severe. The pressure seems to be enormous but once it comes to the point where young people cannot see out their natural lives, then we need to take action as a community. That only comes from getting it out on the table, rummaging through it and looking at the cold, harsh facts. It seems a lot of young boys are walking around with injuries. That can't all be from football because it is more than usual. It would seem that a lot of young people are depressed and it may well be because they are being put into awful situations like this and cannot find their way out. Okay, we can sit back and say they shouldn't be gang members. What's the attraction? What is the reality? What is the way out. We are the adults. We need to help these kids and their parents and we can only do that by facing up to it and then looking at our options as a community. We have strength in numbers.