It's rare that I feature one of the murder victims on my Killadelphia murder count sidebar for an entire post. But this one is different.
David Atkins was 43 years old. He was a doting and devoted father to his six year old son, who worked two jobs (as a glass cleaner and a security guard) to provide his son a proper home.
"He lived for David. It was just him and David...he gave him all the best of everything" This is what Atkins' sister said about his relationship with his son. By all accounts Atkins also worked two jobs to provide a Catholic school education for his son, and he also took care of his 83 year old mother before she moved in with one of his sisters.
David Atkins was one of twelve siblings who had been at alter boy growing up. According to his employer he was a "great" employee, and according to the people who knew him he was a "good friend." One of Atkins' sisters said that "He was a mother and a father to his son...the two of them would always be seen together." So what does that say about us as a society and as a people when we shoot a positive role model and father, and leave him to die like an animal?
David Atkins answered his door early Saturday morning, while his son was sleeping in his bedroom. The person that came to the door shot David Atkins at point blank range. After he fell, the gunman stood over Atkins' body and fired five more shots into his now lifeless body.
The Police are looking for a motive and a gunman . Sadly, as is usually the case here in Killadelphia, no one saw anything, and no one is coming forward.
This is the last time you will hear of David Atkins, because sadly, he is just a statistic to you. But David Atkins had a son, and a family who loved him very much. David Atkins was not just a statistic to them, he was a loved one.
Davis Atkins also had a killer. Someone (or should I say something) so cold blooded and callous that they could shoot another human being like a dog in the doorway of his own home. David Atkins was victim number forty seven in our city. And before this year is over, there will be at least 300 more people like David Atkins, people who we will never hear from or hear about ever again.
