EDITORIAL: A tragic morning

Tragedy comes in all shapes and sizes.

But no matter how much we’re conditioned to acccept it, we’re never ready for something as senseless and heartwrenching as the death of a child.

On Monday, a young girl, just eight years old, was slain, the apparent victim of another case of domestic violence in Thunder Bay.

Statistically she was the sixth person to die at the hands of another this year.

But this one hurts just a bit more than all the rest.

We’re all mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts.

We’re teachers and classmates, neighbours and playmates.

We all know a girl or boy we love like no other, someone we’d go to the ends of the Earth to protect.

We can only imagine the heartbreak and sorrow this girl’s family and friends are going through.

But the thought alone is enough to terrify us, to gather up our little ones and hug them a little tighter in our arms.

Too often children get caught in the crossfire, innocent victims in a deadly game they want no part of playing.

While we may never know for sure just what happened early Monday morning on Donald Street, we know one thing for certain – it should never happen again.