TRAGEDY: Wake up calls abound

Tragically, the young mother who was shot and killed was careless with her purse and with her child. This isn’t just about guns! It’s really about women and mothers who have been fortunate enough to live in a wonderful part of the country where they feel safe — and usually are.

This is about women who leave their purses in their shopping carts, sometimes open, while they shop. And, it’s about mothers who leave their children unattended in the shopping carts while they shop or are distracted because they are on a cell phone.

I was in the same store on Sunday where the young mother was killed and there were still women with purses in their shopping baskets while they were several feet away — shopping or chatting on the phone. One woman was even in another aisle, out of sight of her cart.

This is a dream come true for purse snatchers! I’ve seen wallets, IDs, check books and other items in the purse, plainly visible to anyone who happens to walk by.

It would only take seconds to snatch a baby with a hand over its mouth!

This tragedy is a wake-up call to women in North Idaho, or it should be.

MARY MURDOCK

Athol