Police said the suspect, in his late 20’s, shot and killed a woman in her mid-20’s who he was living with in the complex. The suspect then went to the parking lot where he shot two men who confronted him, police said. He then grabbed a shotgun.
Two other people came out of their apartment to see what was going on. One called 911. The other, a man his early 60’s, was shot and killed in his apartment, police said. The suspect allegedly shot open the door of the apartment with the shotgun, then shot the victim.
The idea that domestic violence is a private matter has always been a horrible lie, but this kind of story, which is not unique, is just one example of why. People who hurt their partners and family members also hurt other people. (See also, apparently, Tamerlan Tsarnaev.) Domestic violence even hurts the economy through health care costs and lost workplace productivity.
This violence does not always stay private. Its effects are not private. And everyone should notice and care—not just people who work with victims or who have domestic violence on their political and social radar. This "private" violence is a serious public health and public safety issue that reaches far past its immediate victims, and it cannot be ignored when we're trying to solve these problems around systemic violence.
