Obama Officials to Address Killing of Chicago Student

[G.O.D.F.A.T.H.A.]

By Michael A. Fletcher
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 2, 2009

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and Education Secretary Arne Duncan will travel to Chicago on Wednesday to meet with students, community members and officials from the high school attended by a 16-year-old honor student who was beaten to death last week, officials said Thursday.

Police called the student, Derrion Albert, an innocent victim who got caught in the middle of a fight between two rival factions at Christian Fenger High School. He was killed in a beating that was captured on video. Four teenagers have been charged with first-degree murder in his death.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the administration officials will discuss school violence. He said the crime has captured the concern of President Obama, who headed to Copenhagen on Thursday evening to support Chicago's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

"Obviously, it's of great concern to the president, as somebody who . . . lives in Chicago, but would and should be a concern for every American," Gibbs said. "This isn't a Chicago problem; this is violence. Youth violence is a problem throughout our country."

Because it was captured on cellphone video, the beating has drawn wide attention. Gibbs condemned it as a "heinous crime."

"This is a war zone," the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson said outside Sheldon Heights Church of Christ, according to the Chicago Tribune. "You don't have to be guilty to be killed in a war zone; the innocent die."

Before he joined the Obama administration, Duncan was the chief executive of the Chicago public school system for seven years.