September 06, 2005

Gang Members Kill Sailor on Leave from Iraq, Wife and Baby Survive

If ever there was a case where the death penalty was called for, this is it. The suspects are still at large, but if it was me that found them.....

Osiel Hipolito's wife and unborn baby were also hurt. The baby was delivered later that same day. What do you say to a child who's birthday falls on the same day that her father was murdered?

AP:

A Navy sailor on leave from the war in Iraq was killed in a suspected gang shooting that also wounded his brother, pregnant wife, and the couple's unborn baby.

Osiel Hipolito, 20, was shopping at a strip mall near Compton with his wife and brother when he was assaulted by two men believed to be gang members, Sheriff's Deputy Scott Gage said.

"He goes to defend himself and one of the gang members draws a gun and begins shooting at the group," Gage said.

Hipolito was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

The baby, a girl, was delivered prematurely with a leg wound. Hipolito's wife and brother were in stable condition, Gage said.

As in, "My father and this thing called a fetus--you know, this appendage attached to my mother which eventually became me, but wasn't really me until three hours later--were shot by gang members. My father died, but I survived. And by I, I mean the fetus which would become me, but wasn't me until several hours later. And by survived, I mean, well, er, I don't know, because how can something that is not legally alive survive anything?"