"They Told Their Parents it Was a Sleepover"

Several parents of young girls present at the fatal stabbing of Brooklyn Ann Hollins have publicly stated they thought their daughters were attending a sleep-over at the Winona Street home. Whatever the party was originally, it soon morphed into one with boys and alcohol. Other reports state that not all those attending were drinking, but at least some were.

As Brooklyn lay dying on the kitchen floor, party-goers hastily called their mothers to pick them up. We doubt that any parent realized the enormity of the conditions their daughters were fleeing.

Friends held a candlelight vigil for 14 year-old Brooklyn last night, and Scott Whittle, owner of Miami Ice, has volunteered to host a fund-raiser for her family. Brooklyn reportedly lived with her grandparents. Her funeral will be Wednesday.

We can now do two things for Brooklyn; we can give financial aid to her family--funerals are anything but cheap, and we're pretty sure her grandparents weren't planning on burying their granddaughter. The second thing might be just a little harder for some individuals. Ask your relatives and friends with young teenagers if they really know what's going on in their children's lives. Sure, you might get rebuffed, but you just might wake some of them up. Many things can be a wake-up call, and Brooklyn's senseless murder should be one of them.

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We hope OB will forgive this post, or at least part of it. We're addressing all young ladies out there...and older ones also. Go to Wal-Mart, or some nearby sporting goods store, purchase pepper spray and whatever other self-defense items are available. Go to the Dollar Tree and buy alarms for windows and doors. Peace of mind is worth spending a few dollars on items you hope you never have to use.

He's in his 20s. He's white. He wears a baseball cap. He's out and about between three and four in the morning. And he likes to assault women. So far he's been thwarted for the most part. Let's keep it that way. If you see anyone fitting this description, call the police. That's what they're there for. The man stalking women in North Florence is sick; let's be sure we help him get what he needs--a jail cell.



Shoalanda