photo #4342170

https://thedailykenn.blogspot.com/2023/06/76-year-old-shot-dead-15-year-old.html #homicides #murders DailyKenn.com — 76-year-old John Materna was fatally shot in Memphis, Tennessee. Arrested was 15-year-old Demarion Tackett. "For 30 years, Materna sold watermelons out of the back of his truck," localmemphis.com reported, and was known locally as The Watermelon Man. Robbery appears to have been the motive. Materna "was shot and killed on the job, police said," according to fox19.com. A second suspect is being sought, reports say. Excuses abound. Some blame financial hardships or gun laws for violent crime. Few are willing to acknowledge the epidemic of urban savagery that has permeated the nation's black neighborhoods for generations. A candlelight vigil was planned for the intersection where Materna sold watermelons.