🚨15-YEAR-OLD GIRL CHARGED WITH MURDER IN CTA RED LINE DEATH

I’m not even coming to you with jokes on this one, because I’m angry. I’m tired. And more than anything, I’m heartbroken.

Chicago, what are we doing with our babies?

A 15-year-old girl has now been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the horrifying death of a man who police say was pushed from a moving CTA Red Line train.

FIFTEEN.

That is somebody’s little girl.

At 15, you should be worrying about school, homecoming, your friends, what you're wearing tomorrow and whether somebody you like texted you back. You should not be sitting in the juvenile justice system facing a MURDER charge.

🚨 WHAT POLICE SAY HAPPENED

The incident happened on Monday, September 7, aboard a southbound Red Line train near 69th Street.

Early information surrounding the man's death was confusing, including an initial report that he may have jumped from the train. Investigators later determined they were dealing with a homicide.

Police say the man was involved in an altercation with a group aboard the train before he was pushed from the moving train.

Now authorities allege that a 15-year-old girl delivered the fatal push.

She has been charged with first-degree murder, felony murder, mob action and aggravated battery of a transit passenger.

Those are allegations. She has not been convicted, and because she is a minor, we're not identifying her.

But whether she's ultimately convicted or not, the fact that we're even talking about a 15-year-old child in a murder case should shake every grown person in this city.

💔 THESE KIDS ARE KILLING EACH OTHER

And THIS is where 730 Boom is angry.

We keep watching children become the suspects, the victims, the names on memorial shirts and the faces somebody's mother is crying over.

THEY ARE CHILDREN.

I know teenagers can be difficult. I know they get attitudes. I know they think they're grown. I know sometimes you want to take their little Wi-Fi password and throw it directly into Lake Michigan.

But they still need us.

And parents, I'm talking to us now.

Buying your child things is NOT the same thing as loving on your child.

A new pair of Jordans isn't a conversation.

An iPhone isn't affection.

Designer clothes aren't guidance.

Giving them money isn't the same as giving them YOU.

Children can have the finest clothes, newest phone, beautiful bedroom and every material thing they ask for and still be emotionally starving.

They need somebody asking:

How are you?

Who are you hanging around?

What happened at school today?

Why are you so angry?

What's hurting you?

Do you know how much I love you?

And then we have to actually sit there long enough to hear the damn answer.

❤️ LOVE ON THESE CHILDREN BEFORE THE STREETS DO

I'm not saying every child who gets into trouble comes from a home without love. They don't. There are parents doing everything humanly possible and still watching their children make terrible decisions.

And parenting alone cannot explain youth violence. There are schools, neighborhoods, peer pressure, social media, trauma, poverty, guns, mental health and a whole pile of other things involved.

But HOME MATTERS.

Attention matters.

Affection matters.

Boundaries matter.

Knowing where your child is matters.

Knowing their friends matters.

Being involved in their life BEFORE something goes wrong matters.

Because when children don't feel seen, some of them will go looking for attention somewhere else. And unfortunately, the people waiting to give it to them don't always have good intentions.

A child who desperately wants to belong can end up doing some incredibly stupid, reckless and even deadly things trying to prove they belong.

😡 FIFTEEN YEARS OLD SHOULD MAKE ALL OF US UNCOMFORTABLE

I don't care whether you have children or not.

A 15-year-old girl accused of pushing somebody from a moving train should bother you.

A person is dead.

A family has lost somebody they love.

And now another family has a 15-year-old child facing one of the most serious charges imaginable.

There are no winners here.

So while the courts determine exactly what happened and what responsibility this young girl bears, the rest of us need to start asking a much bigger question:

How many children do we have to lose to graves, prisons and the streets before loving on our kids becomes just as important as providing for them?

Feed them.

Clothe them.

Protect them.

Discipline them.

Listen to them.

BUT LOVE ON THEM TOO.

Because giving a child everything they want will never replace giving them what they need.

And Chicago, these babies need us before their names become breaking news.

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IT HITS DIFFERENT. EVERY TIME. BOOM! 💥