Obama References Slain Evanston Teen in Gun Control Speech

President Barack Obama referenced slain Evanston teen Justin Murray during a gun control speech in Denver Wednesday, the Daily Northwestern reported. 

Obama quoted Murray’s mother, Carolyn, as saying “you know, I hate it when people tell me that my son was shot because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Daily Northwestern reported. 

, in front of his grandmother’s house at 1818 Brown Ave. More than three months later, police are still investigating the shooting and have not taken anyone into custody yet.  

During a recent city council meeting, Carolyn told council members “the growing concern about guns is still an issue for me.” 

Related: Violent Crime Rose in Evanston in 2012 

Murray met with President Obama while attending his State of the Union Address in February as a guest of U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky. Schakowsky was one of several House Democrats who invited guests affected by gun violence to the address, as a way of advocating for gun safety measures. 

Locally, Murray is an advocate of gun safety herself, and has been since long before her son was shot and killed. She began trying to organize a gun buyback program last summer, as part of her role as co-chair of the West Evanston Strategic Team community group. Not long after 14-year-old Evanston Township High School Student Dajae Coleman was shot and killed in September, the city approved her group’s idea for a gun buyback program, which was held on Dec. 15.

In a tragic irony, her son, Justin, was shot and killed just two weeks before the gun buyback program. 

In the weeks since her son’s death, Murray told the council that she was dissatisfied not only with the lack of resolution in her son’s case, but also with the police department’s level of communication with her. She said the city of Evanston should consider instituting a policy on how and when to contact families about unsolved murders. 

Related Coverage

• Mother of Slain Son: Guns in Evanston ‘Still An Issue’
• 'New York Times' Features Photo of Mother of Slain Evanston Teen
• Evanston State of the Union Guest Honors Slain Son
• Mayor Urges Support of Assault Weapons Ban

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