Shooting Death of Crossing Guard

* As a San Diego County deputy sheriff working inside the jail, and as an avid current events reader, I have come across countless horror stories of crime in our modern-day society. But the story of Aug. 10 about Catherine Tucker, the crossing guard being abducted and murdered, was almost too much too bear.

Can any bystander be more innocent than a school crossing guard?

The criminals who have done this are ruthless sharks. Surely, the devil himself would be horrified. Of course the family and friends must be devastated, yet more important, the unseen and immeasurable damage done to all of us is indeed very real. There is no way to calculate the fear, the altering of lifestyles and attitudes that accompany each of these daily crimes that get more horrific each week.

Does it matter that these men are even punished? What can be done to rectify this calamity? The current issues of economics, immigration, and world peace are almost irrelevant when within our midst a middle-aged woman, doing an important job of helping our children safely across the street to school is squashed like an insect. Heaven help us, America . . . welcome to hell.

ROBERT MARKOWITZ

Chula Vista

* It is heartening amid the intentional bloodletting going on in Yugoslavia that a “mercy flight” can be arranged for a 5-year-old child to get special attention by being flown out of a Sarajevo hospital--figuratively, mountains are moved by the authorities involved.

While down in Long Beach in open daylight a crossing guard mother of seven, is “carjacked” by juveniles and murdered. The perpetrators of these heinous street crimes will be out on the streets shortly because of the “tender” ages while a family is left bereft of any kind of decent life in our country and all of us in general lose respect for “the system.”

There is no declared war but a large segment of our community is free to declare war on us at their whim whenever they want at our cost for their subsequent humane treatment--treatment they never even thought of giving their victims or their victim’s kin.

And institutions like The Times wonder in writing their editorials why honest, decent, law-abiding citizens are arming themselves while refusing to pay taxes to help the little darlings (or their grown-up role models) find jobs and values.

ROBERT ARONOFF

South Pasadena