"MEMPHIS, Tenn. Carnell Vann Jr., trims a fade on an early morning client at his barber shop in the northern neighborhood of Frayser. As he sprays a can of hairspray for the finishing touches, he remembers his younger sister Marlanda. "She was a lovable person. She just liked to love on people," he says with a smile. Marlanda was buried this past weekend, after someone shot into her car while she was driving last month."
"Vann says the bullet went in near one ear and out the other side. She was 47. Vann says violence, particularly gun violence, happens almost daily in this neighborhood. Memphis has one of the highest violent crime rates in the country, according to FBI data and although those numbers have been declining recently, Vann says it hasn't felt that way. "They try to come up with a solution, but none of the solutions work," he says. "I'm hoping this solution right here works.""
"Vann is talking about President Trump's federal intervention to fight crime in Memphis, which began this week and is set to include more than a dozen federal policing agencies and the National Guard. And while troops are expected in the next two weeks, according to local officials, federal agents have already made nearly 100 arrests, according to the White House."
Carnell Vann Jr., a barber in Frayser, remembers his sister Marlanda, who was killed after someone shot into her car; she was 47. Vann says gun violence occurs almost daily in the neighborhood. Memphis records among the highest violent-crime rates in the country, though FBI data show recent declines. Federal intervention began this week, involving more than a dozen federal policing agencies and the National Guard, with troops expected within two weeks and nearly 100 arrests already reported by the White House. The effort is part of a broader strategy to deploy federal forces to cities; many residents and local officials express wariness but cautious hope.
Read at www.npr.org
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