(Posted 18 Oct 2007)
Except for a very brief report in the 15 Oct 2007 Gazette, our local "news" media have failed to report on the brutal 12 Oct 2007 murder of Toykia Lynn Dow, 37, a Black mother trying to protect her son from "crazy dudes" on a Landover street, not far from police headquarters..
Unlike the Post, Times, and Examiner and local broadcast media, which all ignored this senseless killing, Ms. Dow's hometown paper, the Albany (NY) Times Union did consider the story newsworthy. Here is the 18 Oct 2007 Times Union news story. An earlier version and an obituary are also online.
It certainly is a shame that:
- A Black woman cannot safely walk home from the Metro in a Black neighborhood, near police headquarters, in our majority Black county, and
- We have to rely on an Albany, New York, newspaper to find out what the local press won't tell us.
Albany woman killed outside Washington
Family member says victim was gunned down in unprovoked attack
By CAROL DeMARE, Staff writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Thursday, October 18, 2007
An Albany woman who moved to the Washington-Baltimore area recently was shot to death last weekend during an apparently random incident of violence on a suburban street.
Toykia Lynn Dow, 37, spent part of Friday sightseeing with her teenage son and her cousin and eating in a restaurant before the attack, a family member said.
They got off a metro commuter train at about 10:30 p.m. and were on Kent Village Place in Landover, Md., when they were approached, Terrance Jetter of Troy, Dow's brother, said Wednesday.
"These crazy dudes said to them, 'what are you doing on this street? This is my street. Get out of here,' " Jetter said.
His sister responded, "This is crazy, I'm with my child," he said.
One suspect began pistol-whipping Dow's son, DiShawn Infinger, 17, and a struggle ensued, Jetter said.
"She was trying to protect him," and the suspect "pulled out a gun and shot her in the heart," her 33-year-old brother said.
Prince George's County police said in a news release that officers responded to a call of gunshots and upon arrival found Dow with a wound to her upper body. She was taken to a hospital where she died a short time later, police said.
While the case remains under investigation, "detectives learned that the victim may have been involved in a dispute with several individuals before she was shot," the release said.
On Wednesday, a public information officer said there were no arrests and no updates on the case. The department is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and indictment of a suspect.
The police report said Dow lived on 54th Avenue in Hyattsville, about 45 minutes from Baltimore. Her brother said she was staying temporarily with her cousin and returning to Albany on weekends, "wrapping up loose ends." Last week she brought her son back with her, he said.
A 4-year-old daughter, Nyeisha Dow, is living in Albany with relatives and eventually would have joined her mother, Jetter said.
Calling hours are 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at Tebbutt & Frederick Memorial Home at 633 Central Ave. The funeral is 9 a.m. Saturday at the Israel AME Methodist Church on Hamilton Street, Albany. DeMare can be reached at 454-5431 or by e-mail at cdemare@timesunion.com.
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