CHICAGO TRIBUNE editorial: "A spray of fire"

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Starkesia Reed and Siretha White were cut down by stray bullets in sprays of gunfire. Their murders, in recent incidents just days and blocks apart in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago, were stunning.

Police say an AK-47 assault rifle converted to automatic use was used in the killing of 14-year-old Starkesia. It is not yet clear what weapon is to blame in the death of 10-year-old Siretha; investigators believe it may have been a pistol equipped with a large ammunition magazine.

These killings underscore the need to restrict assault weapons--and why such efforts are immensely frustrating. If Illinois were to impose a ban on the sale of such weapons, it wouldn't be hard to get around it. The gang member charged with killing Starkesia Reed bought an AK-47 in Indiana, which doesn't require a firearm owner's card. It's the same kind of weapon used in her murder, though that Indiana purchase has not yet been linked to the crime.

Nevertheless, Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Mayor Richard Daley and others have renewed a campaign for a state ban on assault weapons. They're on the right track.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0603270183mar27,0,7808909.story?coll=chi-newsopinion-hed