Killings in LA spotlight a crisis: ‘Black women are being murdered and no one is paying attention’

Three recent killings in the Los Angeles area have put the spotlight on the disparate impact of American gun violence on Black women and the lack of attention their stories receive, as the country reckons with some of the most intense spates of gun violence in years.

Both killings took place on weekends, a mere two weeks apart. On 8 January, California officials found the body of Tioni Theus, a 16-year-old girl who was found shot at a busy onramp of the 110 freeway. On 23 January, sisters Breahna Stines and Marneysha Hamilton were among four people shot dead during a mass shooting at a birthday party in Inglewood.

Neither incident received much coverage outside of local news, raising questions about which stories are elevated in the national spotlight and which mass shootings grasp the country's attention. While discrepancies between the attention for white victims of violence and Black victims of violence is nothing new, community organizers and researchers worry about the message this phenomenon continues to send to young Black girls about their worth and potential.

"This image of a young Black girl on the side of a highway with cars driving by speaks to the invisibility of Black life," said Nikki Jones, a professor of African American studies at UC Berkeley. "Black girls are contending with the messages that their life is disposable, and that's an extremely dangerous message."

Theus was born in LA's Compton neighborhood. Family members described her as loving, caring and smart, and fond of playing golf. Her life was turned upside down when her mother was severely injured in a motorcycle accident and moved into an assisted living facility, they said. On the evening of 7 January, she reportedly told her father she was meeting someone at a party, according to the LA district attorney George Gascón. Hours later, her body was found.

Officials said on Wednesday that California highway patrol is continuing its investigation with assistance from Los Angeles police. The Los Angeles district attorney's office suspects Theus was a victim of sex trafficking, and said court documents identified her as a victim of child sex exploitation.

But officials did not announce any suspects or a motive for the killing. Authorities did announce a $110,000 reward for tips that lead to an arrest in the case, a move Theus's family and Black Los Angeles residents had been asking for for weeks.